[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:02]
WELCOME, UH, EVERYONE TO THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.
UH, TODAY IS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH.
UH, CALLING THE MEETING, MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, SOME MEMBERS OF THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION MIGHT BE PARTICIPATING VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE.
UH, THE LINK TO, UH, TO WATCH US IS ON A TX IN LIVE THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND START WITH OUR ROLL CALL.
UH, MY NAME IS STEVEN APODACA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, AND I'LL START WITH MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS IN THE ROOM.
UH, COMMISSIONER COMBY, DISTRICT SEVEN, COMMISSIONER PREVI, DISTRICT 10.
UM, AND JUST TO KEEP EVERYTHING FLOWING, I'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, WHO ARE JOINING US ONLINE.
UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE DISTRICT FOUR, AND COMMISSIONER ANGA.
COMMISSIONER ANGA, DISTRICT NINE.
AND COMMISSIONER, UH, WILLIAMS. HELLO WILLIAMS, DISTRICT ONE.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. UM, SO WITH THAT, I CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
AND, UH, OUR FIRST ITEM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SIGNED UP.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM, AND THAT'S APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING ON OCTOBER 8TH.UH, I'LL GIVE, UM, COMMISSIONERS JUST, UH, A MOMENT OR TWO TO DO A FINAL READ THROUGH OF THE, UH, OF THE MINUTES, AND THEN I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. SO MOVED.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND MOTION PUT FORWARD BY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PREVI.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, PLEASE COME ON CAMERA, RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY I, IMI.
[2. Presentation by AT&T on their affordable home internet programs (Paige Johnson, AT&T)]
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO OUR NEXT ITEM, AND THAT IS A PRESENTATION BY, UH, AT AND T ON THEIR AFFORDABLE HOME INTERNET PROGRAM.UH, SO EXCITED TO WELCOME PAIGE JOHNSON FROM, UH, FROM THAT ORGANIZATION.
UH, AND I WILL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, WAS THERE A CLICKER FOR THE YES.
I JUST DECIDED TO, THERE WE GO.
UM, GOOD EVENING, CHAIRMAN AND COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY.
MY NAME IS PAIGE JOHNSON, AND I'M WITH AT AND T EXTERNAL AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
UM, I ACTUALLY WAS BORN AND RAISED IN AUSTIN, AND I'M A FIFTH GENERATION AUSTINITE.
SO EXCITED TO BE HERE WITH YOU ALL TODAY.
ON BEHALF OF AT TI APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO SHARE HOW OUR COMPANY IS INVESTING IN AUSTIN'S CONNECTIVITY, SUPPORTING DIGITAL LITERACY, AND COLLABORATING ACROSS THE CITY TO ENSURE OUR COMMUNITY REMAINS AT THE FOREFRONT OF INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY.
I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH AN UPDATE ON OUR BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS IN AUSTIN.
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AT AND T HAS MADE SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS IN TEXAS TO MODERNIZE AND EXPAND OUR NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE.
FROM 2020 THROUGH 2024, WE INVESTED NEARLY $12.9 BILLION STATEWIDE, A REFLECTION OF OUR LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO CONNECTING MORE TEXANS TO GREATER POSSIBILITY.
HERE IN THE AUSTIN BROWN ROCK GEORGETOWN AREA, WE'VE INVESTED APPROXIMATELY $1.1 BILLION TO ENHANCE BOTH WIRED AND WIRELESS NETWORKS FROM 2020 TO 2024, THESE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS SUPPORT FASTER SPEEDS, GREATER RELIABILITY, AND EXPANDED COVERAGE ACROSS HOMES, SCHOOLS, BUSINESSES, AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES.
A MAJOR PART OF OUR INVESTMENT IS IN AT AND T FIBER.
UM, AT AND T NOW SERVES 8 MILLION FIBER CUSTOMERS NATIONWIDE, MORE THAN ANY OTHER PROVIDER IN AMERICA.
WE'VE NEARLY DOUBLED OUR FIBER CUSTOMER BASE IN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS, PROVING THAT PEOPLE VALUE THE SPEED AND RELIABILITY THAT FIBER DELIVERS.
WE'RE PROUD THAT MANY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS ARE RIGHT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS WITH OVER 40,000 NEW CUSTOMER LOCATIONS ADDED AND AUSTIN ALONE SINCE OCTOBER, 2023, AND IT ALL STARTED HERE IN AUSTIN, AND 2013, AT AND T LAUNCHED ITS FIRST FIBER INITIATIVE IN THE CITY, THE BIRTHPLACE OF AT AND T FIBER.
WHAT BEGAN AS A GROUNDBREAKING PILOT IN THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD SPARKED A NATIONAL TRANSFORMATION IN HOW WE DELIVER HIGH SPEED CONNECTIVITY.
FIBER REMAINS THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN CONNECTIVITY AND ENABLES EVERYTHING FROM REMOTE, REMOTE WORK AND TELEHEALTH TO SMART HOMES AND EMERGING AI TECHNOLOGIES.
THAT'S WHY AT T PLANS TO ROUGHLY DOUBLE OUR FIBER FOOTPRINT BY 2030, REACHING AN ESTIMATED
[00:05:01]
60 MILLION LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE SINCE 2023, AT AND T HAS ALSO DEPLOYED OVER 20 SMALL CELLS AND OVER 20 NEW MACRO WIRELESS SITES ACROSS AUSTIN.THESE UPGRADES INCREASE CAPACITY AND RESILIENCY, ENSURING THAT RESIDENTS FIRST RESPONDERS AND LOCAL ENTERPRISES HAVE THE RELIABLE CONNECTIVITY THEY NEED TO THRIVE IN A DIGITAL ECONOMY.
WE'RE PROUD THAT OUR ONGOING INVESTMENTS FROM FIBER TO WIRELESS HELP AUSTIN SUSTAIN ITS REPUTATION AS A HUB OF INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY.
WE KNOW THAT INFRASTRUCTURE ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH.
TRUE PROGRESS REQUIRES ACCESS IN DIGITAL LITERACY, ENSURING EVERY MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY CAN PARTICIPATE FULLY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.
ON THIS FRONT, I'M PARTICULARLY PROUD OF AT T'S EFFORTS TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
AT T IS A LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORTING LOCAL AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS IN AUSTIN.
IN RECENT YEARS, WE'VE DONATED HUNDREDS OF REFURBISHED LAPTOPS TO THE K THROUGH 12 STUDENTS, YOUNG ADULTS AND FAMILIES IN NEED, HELPING BRIDGE THE TECHNOLOGY GAP THAT CAN LIMIT OPPORTUNITY.
WE'VE ALSO CONTRIBUTED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO AUSTIN-BASED NONPROFITS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE AUSTIN BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, MEALS ON WHEELS, AND THE ZAC THEATER.
THESE PARTNERSHIPS STRENGTHEN THE CIVIC AND CULTURAL FABRIC THAT MAKES AUSTIN UNIQUE.
WE ALSO KNOW DIGITAL EQUITY GOES BEYOND DEVICES.
IT'S ABOUT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT OPEN DOORS ACROSS TEXAS, WHERE NEARLY 2.8 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS STILL LACK BROADBAND ACCESS.
OUR CONNECTED LEARNING CENTERS PROVIDE FREE HIGH SPEED INTERNET, COMPUTERS, TUTORING AND MENTORING.
IN 2024, WE OPENED THE NATION'S 50TH CONNECTED LEARNING CENTER RIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN AT THE AUSTIN BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB HOME CLUB, ALONG WITH A $50,000 CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT YOUTH PROGRAMMING.
ALREADY, THE CENTER HAS BECOME A POWERFUL RESOURCE DURING THIS YEAR'S YOUTH OF THE YEAR COMPETITION.
STUDENTS USE THE CENTER AS A SAFE, CONSISTENT PLACE TO PREPARE WRITING ESSAYS, PRACTICING INTERVIEWS, AND BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN A PROFESSIONAL SETTING.
IT'S A VIVID EXAMPLE OF HOW ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP YOUNG PEOPLE REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET IS VITAL TO FOSTERING OPPORTUNITY, CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND BUILDING A BRIGHTER, MORE CONNECTED FUTURE FOR ALL AMERICANS.
AT AT T WE BELIEVE FIBER IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, DELIVERING THE SPEED, RELIABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THE DEMANDS OF LIFE TODAY AND BEYOND.
ACCESS FROM AT T IS OUR HOME INTERNET PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR LIMITED INCOMES EL LIMITED INCOME ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.
THE PROGRAM OFFERS SPEEDS UP TO 100 MEGABITS PER SECOND ON AT T FIBER FOR $30 PER MONTH, OR IF AVAILABLE, YOU COULD SAVE UP TO $20 A MONTH ON EVEN FASTER FIBER SPEEDS.
ACCESS FROM AT T IS AVAILABLE TO HOUSEHOLDS BELOW 200% OF FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES OR THOSE IN GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. I'VE ALSO BROUGHT SOME FLYERS WITH ME TODAY IN CASE YOU ALL KNOW ANYONE WHO IS ELIGIBLE AND INTERESTED IN SIGNING UP.
FINALLY, I'D LIKE TO TOUCH ON THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY AT AND T VALUES.
ITS STRONG LEADER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND APPRECIATES THE CITY'S WORK TO STREAMLINE PERMITTING AND DEPLOYMENT PROCESSES.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE ALLOWING US TO EXPAND SERVICES MORE EFFICIENTLY.
AT THE SAME TIME, THERE'S MORE WE CAN DO TOGETHER.
CONTINUED COLLABORATION TO MODERNIZE AND SIMPLIFY PERMITTING WILL ACCELERATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT, BENEFITING CONSUMERS, BUSINESSES IN THE CITY'S BROADER DIGITAL EQUITY GOALS.
WHEN GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY WORK IN PARTNERSHIP, AUSTIN BECOMES NOT JUST MORE CONNECTED, BUT MORE INCLUSIVE, RESILIENT, AND COMPETITIVE ON A NATIONAL SCALE.
IN CLOSING, AT T IS PROUD TO BE A LONGSTANDING PROVIDER TO THIS COMMUNITY.
OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO GREATER POSSIBILITIES THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE, THROUGH EDUCATION, AND THROUGH COLLABORATION.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR WORK WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO ENSURE THAT EVERY RESIDENT IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD CAN SHARE IT IN THE BENEFITS OF A CONNECTED FUTURE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONTINUED LEADERSHIP IN ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UH, FOR COMING IN FOR THAT PRESENTATION PAGE.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES.
UM, SO IS THAT $30 PRICE POINT FOR THE AFFORDABILITY OPTION? IS THAT CONSISTENT WITH, UH, THE PRICE OFFERED DURING, UH, THE TIME OF THE AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM? I WOULD NEED TO DOUBLE CHECK THAT.
SO LET ME, LET ME CHECK WITH THAT AND I CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH YOU.
YEAH, CERTAINLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ENDING OF THAT PROGRAM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO MM-HMM
OFFER A, A, A COMPETITIVE PRICE POINT, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AS COMMISSIONERS, WE HEAR CONSISTENTLY.
UM, SO LOOK FORWARD TO AN ANSWER YEAH.
YEAH, I'LL, I'LL DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH Y'ALL.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS IN, IN THE ROOM HAVE ANY INITIAL QUESTIONS? I'M JUST CURIOUS, PAIGE, UM, WITH THE WIND DOWN OF A CP LAST YEAR AS WELL, IF YOU ALL SAW MAYBE JUST IN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY DATA ON AUSTIN, AN UPTICK AND APPLICATIONS FOR
[00:10:01]
THE ACCESS PLAN IN, UH, I'D BE CURIOUS JUST TO SEE, OR MAYBE CONVERSIONS OF FOLKS FROM A CP TO THAT PLAN WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY ON, UH, YOUR ECP PLAN.SO I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU HAD ANY DATA ON THAT.
UM, I, I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA IN FRONT OF ME TODAY, BUT ALSO HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP AND CIRCLE BACK WITH Y'ALL ON THAT AS WELL.
COMMISSIONER COMBI, UM, YOU, IN THE PRESENTATION YOU TALKED ABOUT WHAT YOU HAD FOR THE AFFORDABLE PLAN FOR PEOPLE IN FIBER SERVE AREAS.
IS THERE ANYTHING SIMILAR IN AREAS THAT WOULD JUST BE LIKE WITH THE, JUST WIRELESS COVERAGE? I'M NOT POSITIVE.
LET ME DOUBLE CHECK AND I'LL ALSO CIRCLE BACK WITH Y'ALL ON THAT AS WELL.
UM, INTERESTED TO HEAR, UH, JUST FUTURE PLANS FOR EXPANSION, DEPLOYMENT OF, UM, PERHAPS THE AREAS OF THE CITY THAT ARE NOT COVERED MM-HMM
I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEAR FROM CONSTITUENTS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, MAYBE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT, UM, IN THE CITY CENTER, BUT UH, MORE, UM, ON THE OUTWARD FACING AREAS OF AUSTIN MM-HMM
IS THAT, UH, THERE'S POOR RELIABILITY, UM, OR, UM, POOR RELIABILITY AND, AND SPEED.
SO I'M CURIOUS IF, IS THERE ANY MAPPING DONE OR, UH, TO, TO FOCUS IN ON SOME OF THOSE AREAS TO CLOSE THE, THE GAP? YES.
UM, WE DEFINITELY HAVE PLANS IN PLACE TO EXPAND.
UM, I DON'T QUITE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE AT THIS TIME.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THE DATA IN FRONT OF ME.
WELL, IF WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW UP ON THE, UM, SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT YEAH.
WOULD THAT BE YOU DIRECTLY? YES.
I'M HAPPY TO BE THE POINT PERSON.
ANY OTHER FINAL QUESTIONS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS BEFORE WE SWITCH GEARS? I THINK THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD ADD IS, UM, TO YOUR POINT, JUST UNDERSTANDING OF POTENTIAL PLANS, AND I THINK COMMISSIONER COMBY ASKED TOO, LIKE AREAS WHERE MAYBE F ISN'T AVAILABLE.
UM, UNDERSTANDING BUILD PLANS FOR THAT.
UM, BUT THEN ADDITIONALLY, I WOULD SAY FROM A A MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE, I KNOW WE GET A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE OR SORT OF NOT EVEN DOWNTOWN CORE, JUST SORT OF CENTRAL AND, UH, COVERAGE, UM, FOR MOBILITY AND JUST THAT BACKHAUL MIGHT NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR CONSISTENT COVERAGE.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER INTERESTING POINT.
UM, PAIGE, IF WE COULD DIG IN ON THAT AT A FUTURE DATE.
WELL, THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR, UH, COMING AND ANSWERING, UH, SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS.
WE'LL BE SURE TO, TO FOLLOW UP.
[3. Presentation by Charter on their affordable home internet programs (Ned Munoz, Charter Communications)]
WELL, WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA.UM, THE NEXT PRESENTATION WE HAVE IS, UH, BY CHARTER ON THEIR AFFORDABLE HOME INTERNET PROGRAMS, AND I BELIEVE, UH, NED MUNOZ IS ATTENDING VIRTUALLY.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO NED.
ALRIGHT, WELL LET ME SHARE MY SCREEN HERE AND LET ME KNOW IF IT IS WORKING.
SO, WELL, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE Y'ALL TODAY.
UH, MY NAME'S NED MUNOZ, VP FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS HERE AT CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, OR AS OUR CUSTOMER FACING BRAND IS KNOWN SPECTRUM.
UH, CHARTER PROVIDES HIGH SPEED INTERNET, VIDEO, MOBILE, AND VOICE SERVICES UNDER OUR BRAND NAME CHARTER TO MORE THAN 30 MILLION CUSTOMERS ACROSS 41 STATES.
UH, FROM 2020 TO 2024 ALONE, CHARTER HAS INVESTED NEARLY 47 BILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN TEXAS.
WE SERVE NEARLY 3.5 MILLION CUSTOMERS AND INVESTED CLOSE TO 1.8 BILLION IN THE LONE STAR STATE ALONE IN 2024.
UH, I, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE WANNA NOTE IS THAT, UH, CHARTER HAS MORE EMPLOYEES IN TEXAS THAN WE DO IN ANY OTHER STATE, AND WE'RE VERY PROUD TO SAY THAT WE'VE GOT A 100% US BASED WORKFORCE.
SO ALL OF OUR WORKFORCE IS LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM SLIDE THREE HERE, HEY NED, THIS IS STEVEN.
WOULD YOU MIND PUTTING IT INTO PRESENTATION MODE? UM, WE'RE, WE CAN SEE YOUR ENTIRE WINDOW, SO IT'S JUST A LITTLE HARD TO SEE.
I GUESS, UH, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS, IS LIKE, UH, THE ENTIRE WINDOW, SO PROBABLY, YEAH, PRESENTATION MODE.
I GUESS THAT IS MAYBE THIS ONE.
[00:15:02]
SO IS THAT BETTER? NO, UH, NOW WE'RE SEEING, UH, PRESENT INTERVIEW.UM, I THINK IT'S UNDER DISPLAY SETTINGS, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.
UM, WELL, I THINK I WAS ON SLIDE THREE HERE.
UM, AND, AND, AND Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO SEE IT AS, AS YOU WANT TO NOW.
UM, I'LL GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, SLIDE TWO.
UM, THERE, THIS WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT US, UH, WHERE WE ARE, US, AND THEN HERE ON SLIDE THREE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN TEXAS, UH, AS I SAID, WE'RE SERVING ABOUT 3.5 MILLION CUSTOMERS, UH, IN THE STATE INVESTED CLOSE TO 1.8 BILLION IN 2024 HERE IN TEXAS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE MORE EMPLOYEES, UH, IN TEXAS THAN ANY OTHER STATE.
AND AS I SAID, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IS HAVING A 100% US BASED WORKFORCE, MEANING ALL OF OUR WORKFORCE IS LOCATED PHYSICALLY IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS SLIDE, AUSTIN IS ONE OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYMENT CENTERS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, TEXAS BEING WHERE MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE AND, AND AUSTIN BEING ONE OF OUR LARGE LARGEST EMPLOYEE CENTERS, AUSTIN IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART, UH, OF, OF, OF OUR WORKFORCE.
WE'VE GOT, UM, A LOT OF OUR, UH, OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF CUSTOMERS HERE, BUT A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES LIVE AND WORK HERE IN AUSTIN.
UH, AS, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OBVIOUSLY WE OFFER INTERNET, VOICE, MOBILE AND TV.
UH, WE DO THIS OVER OUR HYBRID FIBER NETWORK THROUGH WHICH WE CAN DELIVER GIGABIT OR FASTER SPEEDS AND WIFI TO RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS.
WE HAVE NO MODEM FEES, WE HAVE NO DATA CAPS, AND WE HAVE NO CONTRACTS.
OUR STANDARD NON-PROMOTIONAL RATES ARE $80 FOR 500 MEGABYTE SERVICE AND A HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR ONE GIGABYTE SERVICE.
CURRENTLY, WE OFFER TWO, UH, UH, INCOME QUALIFIED, UH, LOW COST OPTIONS.
WE'VE GOT SPECTRUM INTERNET ASSIST FOR $25 A MONTH, AND THEN WE'VE GOT SPECTRUM INTERNET ADVANTAGE, UH, FOR $50 A MONTH.
AND I KNOW, UH, Y'ALL WERE CURIOUS ON HOW A CP COMPARED HERE.
UM, I'D HAVE TO GO AND DOUBLE CHECK, BUT I THINK OUR SPECTRUM INTERNET ASSIST WAS DESIGNED TO, TO, UH, TO MEET THAT, THAT SAME PRICE POINT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
AGAIN, THAT'S 25 PER MONTH, BUT I, I'LL GO BACK AND SEE WHERE WE WERE ON A CP AND, AND JUST CONFIRM THAT.
UM, BUT I, I DO WANNA, UH, POINT OUT THAT ACCORDING TO OPEN SIGNAL'S BROADBAND REPORT, UM, CHARTER WAS DETERMINED TO DELIVER THE MOST RELIABLE INTERNET.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, ACCORDING TO THE FCC FIXED BROADBAND REPORT, CHARTER EXCEEDED 100% OF OUR ADVERTISED DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEEDS.
UM, UH, SPECTRUM, UH, BECAME THE FIRST MAJOR, UM, BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDER TO LAUNCH WIFI SEVEN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION, UH, EXCLUSIVELY DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED FOR BOTH OUR RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS CUSTOMERS.
UH, AND JUST RECENTLY SPECTRUM, UH, AND BROAD CAM DEMONSTRATED THAT OUR NEXT GEN WIFI THAT HITS NEARLY 10 GIGABYTES ON A SINGLE DEVICE, UH, WE CAN DO THAT ON A SINGLE DEVICE BY COMBINING THE SIX GIGAHERTZ BAND, ALONG WITH A EXTRA SEVEN GIGAHERTZ SPECTRUM.
AND THE DEMO HIGHLIGHTED FASTER, MORE RELIABLE WIFI FOR PHONES, GAMING, UH, VIDEO, UH, COMPUTERS.
AND EVENTUALLY WE WERE ABLE TO REACH UP TO 20 GIGABYTES, UH, BY OPENING UP MORE UNLICENSED SPECTRUM ABOVE THE SEVEN GIGAHERTZ.
UH, AND BY DOING THIS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE US CAN BE A LEADER IN THESE, IN THIS HIGH SPEED WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY, UH, TO GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS MORE CHOICES AND GREATER VALUE SPECTRUM HAS PARTNERED WITH MAJOR PROGRAMMERS TO OFFER VIDEO PACKAGES THAT INCLUDE DIRECT TO CONSUMER APPS AT NO ADDITIONAL COST, PROVIDING THE FLEXIBILITY TO MATCH CUSTOMER'S VIEWING PREFERENCES AND THEIR BUDGET.
AND SO WHAT HAPPENED HERE IS, UH, UH, CHARTER AND SPECTRUM WAS ABLE TO USE ITS MARKET, UH, SHARE ITS MARKET FORCES HERE, SO THAT THOSE WHO WERE RECEIVING WERE ON ANY, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE, UH, PACKAGES, ONE OF OUR VIDEO PACKAGES WAS ABLE TO GET THESE STREAMING DEVICE, THESE STREAMING APPS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE ADDED THESE APPS WITHOUT RAISING THE PRICE AT ALL.
SO, UH, YOU CAN SEE FROM THE LIST HERE, WE'VE GOT PEACOCK, UH, HBO MAX, UH, ESPN PLUS, UH, PARAMOUNT, UH, THE DISNEY PLUS, ALL OF THESE A MC, THESE APPS WERE, ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS, AGAIN, AT NO EXTRA COST TO THEM.
AND THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT THING, I THINK, FOR US TO, UH, UH, SHOW OUR, TO SHOW OUR CUSTOMERS THAT
[00:20:01]
WHEN THEY SIGN UP FOR SERVICES, THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE LIMITED BY, UH, BY, BY, BY SOME OF THESE COMPANIES THAT WANT TO PROVIDE THE EXTRA VIEWING THROUGH AN EXTRA CHARGE.SO, WE'LL, WE PROVIDE THAT AT NO EXTRA CHARGE.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, AND I THINK WAS, WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO OUR, UH, OUR SUBSCRIBERS.
UM, CHARTER IS INVESTING MORE THAN $6 BILLION IN ITS NETWORK EVOLUTION TO DELIVER THIS MULTI GIGABIT SPEED TO ALL HOMES AND TO OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES, UH, OUR CUSTOMERS THERE.
UH, THIS 100% CHARTER FUNDED INVESTMENT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETE ACROSS OUR ENTIRE FOOTPRINT, HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF 2027.
SO NOT ONLY ARE WE UPGRADING OUR LARGER SERVICE FOOTPRINT IN AUSTIN, BUT WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING MARKET FILL AND PROJECTS IN THE NEW NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND AUSTIN.
SO, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO THANK Y'ALL FOR ALLOWING ME TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.
UH, WE REALLY VALUE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OUR COMMUNITIES VERY MUCH.
UH, AUSTIN IS ONE OF OUR JEWEL COMMUNITIES, ONE THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF, AND I, AS AN AUSTIN RESIDENT, UH, AND HAVING GONE TO SCHOOL HERE AND BEING, HAVING LIVED HERE FOR SO MANY YEARS, THIS IS AN ESPECIALLY VALUABLE MARKET TO ME, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
SO IT REALLY IS NICE TO BE WITH Y'ALL TODAY TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS Y'ALL.
UH, AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH NED FOR, UH, FOR ATTENDING AND GIVING US, UM, ALL THE, ALL THE DETAILS.
UM, YEAH, LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, TO, TO COMMUNICATING, UH, WITH YOU ON, UH, UNDERSTANDING WHERE THAT $25 PRICE POINT COMPARES TO, UM, THE TIME DURING A CP.
AND, UH, JUST CURIOUS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UH, PROGRAMS, OUTREACH THAT, UH, SPECTRUM OR, UH, OR CHARTER ARE DOING TO THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT, UM, MEMBERS OF OF THE COMMUNITY WHO, WHO NEED INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, THE, THE MOST, UM, ARE ARE BEING MET? YEAH, I MEAN, UH, I THINK, UH, LIKE YOU SAW FROM, FROM AT AND T, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO LIKE TO DO AS WELL IS A LOT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
UH, I, I KNOW, UH, MEALS, UH, UH, MEALS ON WHEELS, I KNOW IS ONE THAT JUST RECENTLY WE PROVIDED, UM, SOME, UM, UH, UH, A CONTRIBUTION TO NOT ONLY IN AUSTIN, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, STATES, UH, CITIES AROUND TEXAS.
UH, BUT YEAH, WE HAVE A, A VERY ROBUST, WE CALL IT, UH, OUR GCS PROGRAM.
IT'S A GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO, UH, ON, UH, ON, ON A VERY ROBUST LEVEL IN ORDER TO STAY INVOLVED WITH THAT COMMUNITY.
UH, IT CAN RANGE FOR ANYWHERE FROM CONTRIBUTIONS TO, UM, EVENTS THAT WE HAVE WHERE, UH, PERHAPS WE'RE OPENING A NEW TECH CENTER AND WE'LL HAVE AN EVENT, UH, AND INVITE, UM, LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND LEADERS OF THAT COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO SHOW THE COMMUNITY JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING, UH, TO STAY INVOLVED THERE.
UH, SO IT'S THROUGH, IT'S THROUGH THOSE THAT THOSE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SPREAD THE WORD OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE THROUGH SPREAD THROUGH SPECTRUM.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, ROBUST, UH, ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS AS WELL THAT ARE ABLE TO DO THE SAME THING.
UM, YEAH, WE, WE WOULD LOVE TO RECEIVE, UH, INVITATIONS TO THOSE, UH, EVENTS AS THEY'RE BEING HELD.
I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, JULIA ZINSMEISTER I KNOW WORKS WITH Y'ALL A LOT, UH, SO I'LL TOUCH BASE WITH HER.
UM, AND, AND AS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE CLOSING 2025, AND AS WE START PLANNING FOR 2026, UM, UH, I'LL CERTAINLY, UH, TALK TO JULIE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND Y'ALL INVOLVED IN THOSE EVENTS AND, AND, UH, AND, AND MAKE AN EXTRA SPECIAL EFFORT TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMISSION ITSELF.
UH, ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I THINK I'D LOVE JUST TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE NED ABOUT THE, UM, OH GOSH, IT'S ESCAPING ME NOW.
UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE EXPANSION AREAS AND THEN SOME OF THE, UM, FILL IN NEW NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, AS WELL AROUND THE AREA.
DO YOU ALL DO LIKE MDU DEVELOPMENTS AS WELL, OR? WE DO.
UM, YOU, THAT, THAT'S A REAL, OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR BUSINESS.
UH, I DON'T KNOW, UH, IF WE'RE DOING ANY RIGHT NOW AROUND DAWON, BUT I CAN, I CAN, UH, LOOK INTO THAT FOR YOU.
BUT YES, WE, WE DO WORK, UH, WITH MDU AND DO SOME LARGE SCALE, UH, PROJECTS WITH THEM.
ANY OTHER FINAL QUESTIONS? NETTE? UH, THIS IS, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION.
IT IS REALLY SURROUNDING THE OVERLAP
[00:25:01]
IN UNDERSERVED AREAS.SO FOR INSTANCE, WE HAVE A CHARTER HERE AT AT T HERE, BOTH DOING DIFFERENT THINGS TO SERVE OUR, UH, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN THE WAYS THAT THEY CAN.
UH, THIS QUESTION MIGHT REALLY BE FOR US, THE COMMISSION, BUT IT'S REALLY AROUND THE OVERLAP OF, UH, CLEAR SERVICES HAPPENING AREAS.
FOR INSTANCE, UH, FURTHER EAST AUSTIN, UH, AWAY FROM THE HIGHWAY FURTHER EAST, UH, TENDS TO BE AN AREA THAT IS LESSER BY SOME OF OUR PROVIDERS.
THE CHARTER MAY BE BETTER THAN ANOTHER PROVIDER THAT'S SERVING ANY AREA OR SOME PARTS OF NORTH AUSTIN, UM, MAYBE AT T IS BETTER AT SERVING.
SO MY QUESTION THAT MAY CENTER FOR US IS, IS THERE A MEANS BY WHICH WE CAN SEE WHO IS SERVICING, WHICH UNDERSERVED WITH THE, THE FLOOR DOLLAR ACCESS TO INTERNET? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT EITHER OF THIS COMMISSION CAN'T DETERMINE OR DISCERN A PARTNERSHIP WITH THESE PROVIDERS OR SOMETHING THAT PROVIDERS CAN HELP US DISCERN BY GIVING US THE AREAS THAT THEY ARE NOT? OUR GOAL IS TO SEE IF THERE ARE CHALLENGE AREAS THAT DON'T WANT DESERVE OR IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO ENGAGE FOR OUR PROVIDERS.
THAT'S KIND OF MY BROAD QUESTION.
UM, I, I WAS HAVING A, A LITTLE TROUBLE, UH, HEARING, BUT I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, LET ME KNOW.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR QUESTION IS KIND OF ON THE OVERLAP OF SOME OF THESE AREAS, ESPECIALLY LIKE EAST AUSTIN AND OTHERS.
UM, DO WE HAVE AREAS WHERE WE'RE SEEING CHALLENGES IN THAT LOWER COST OPTION? UH, AND, AND WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE IN SOME OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS FOR THAT LOW COST OPTION? IS, WAS THAT ROUGHLY YOUR QUESTION? THAT IS ROUGHLY IT, BUT THEY FOCUS ON AREAS THAT ARE EITHER NOT BEING SERVED AT ALL OR AREAS THAT ARE ALL UNDERSERVED BY.
BUT IN YOUR CASE CHART, IF THERE AREAS NOT SERVING AT ALL THERE BEEN AVAILABLE AT ANY PRICE OR, UM, IF THERE'S NO WAYS TO DETERMINE WHERE THOSE AREAS FORM SUCH THAT THIS COMMISSION OR THE BODY CAN LOOK AT OTHER
SO YEAH, IT'S REALLY JUST A QUESTION OF WHERE IS CHARTER NOT OPERATING, UH, WHERE WE MIGHT NEED TO ANSWER.
YEAH, I, I, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL CERTAINLY FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THAT FOR YOU.
I'M, I'M WRITING DOWN, UM, I'M WRITING DOWN THE FOLLOW UP WITH Y'ALL AND, AND I'VE GOT THAT ONE DOWN.
AND JUST TO, AND, AND JUST TO, UM, SORT OF, UH, ON THAT SAME VEIN, IT'D BE, UH, REALLY INTERESTED TO SEE IF, UM, THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING, UH, SERVICE AREA MAPS, IF THOSE ARE SHAREABLE, UM, AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, THAT MIGHT HELP US WITH, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT SPECIFIC AREAS ARE BEING UNDERSERVED.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS IS TRYING TO GET AT.
UM, YEAH, I, I'LL FIND OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY WHAT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO WHAT LEVEL WE CAN SHARE, UH, THAT STUFF.
UH, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, YOU KNOW, GI GIVE Y'ALL A, A, A GOOD IDEA OF OUR FOOTPRINT THERE.
I HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION, NED IS PROBABLY MORE OF A FOLLOW UP.
UM, UN UNLESS YOU HAVE A DIRECT ANSWER ON IT TOO, IS AS YOU THINK ABOUT THE CITY FOOTPRINT AND, UH, SOME OF THE ETJ AREAS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN MM-HMM
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU SEE FROM, YOU TALKED ABOUT UPGRADING YOUR NETWORK, UM, UPGRADING PLANTS.
SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE AS A COMMISSION, UM, COULD BE REPORTING BACK TO COUNCIL? THINK, YOU KNOW, WE LIVE IN A AUSTIN ENERGIES, OUR PO OWNER PREDOMINANTLY.
SO I'M KIND OF CURIOUS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FROM, FROM A PROVIDER PERSPECTIVE, THINGS THAT COULD, FROM A CITY LENS HELP FACILITATE THAT.
OBVIOUSLY PERMITTING IS THE BIG YES.
AND, AND, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND YES, OBVIOUSLY PERMITTING, UM, YOU KNOW, IS A BIG PART OF IT.
I KNOW, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THE, UH, UH, THE AUSTIN UTILITY LOCATION AND COORDINATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, WORKING WITH THEM, THEY'LL, THEY CAN PROVIDE EARLY PROJECT NOTIFICATIONS AND KEY CONTACTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THIS GIVES, UH, PROJECT PARTICIPANTS VALUABLE VISIBILITY ON SOME OF THESE UPCOMING PROJECTS.
UH, CURRENTLY THAT REVIEW PROCESS, I BELIEVE IS, CAN SPAN, I THINK, FOUR TO EIGHT MONTHS.
UH, AND THAT CAN MAKE IT CHALLENGING TO FULLY ALIGN THE PROJECT SCHEDULES ON THAT BUILD.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, A POSSIBLE SOLUTION WOULD BE TO INTRODUCE KIND OF INTERIM UPDATES OR PERHAPS MILESTONE CHECKPOINTS DURING THAT REVIEW PROCESS.
UH, PROVIDE EARLIER VISIBILITY, YOU KNOW, HELP OUR TEAMS BETTER PLAN FOR RESOURCES AND TIMELINES.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER CHALLENGE THAT ARE TEAMS SOMETIMES ENCOUNTER ARE THE CITY FUNDED PROJECTS.
[00:30:01]
KNOW, THEY OFTEN REQUIRE A SEGMENTED UTILITY.AND THIS IS GREAT 'CAUSE IT ENSURES COORDINATION, YOU KNOW, ACROSS MULTIPLE UTILITIES AND, YOU KNOW, THAT SUPPORTS SAFE, RELIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE.
HOWEVER, APPROVALS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING PERMITTING AGAIN, YOU KNOW, APPROVALS CAN CREATE, YOU KNOW, UNCERTAINTY AROUND THE BUILD AND PERMIT TIMELINES, UH, YOU KNOW, PROGRESS ON ONE UTILITY CAN DEPEND ON APPROVALS FROM, FROM THE, FROM OTHERS, MAKING SCHEDULE COORDINATION MORE COMPLEX.
AND, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY SOMETHING TO LOOK AT THERE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISH CLEAR COORDINATED TIMELINES, UH, FOR UTILITY APPROVALS ON THOSE, ON, ON THOSE TYPES OF CITY FUNDED PROJECTS, ENABLING STAKEHOLDERS TO BETTER ALIGN SCHEDULES, STREAMLINED PROJECT EXECUTION.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU GET TO THE, TO, TO THE GIST OF THAT THERE, WHICH IS PERMITTING, RIGHT? THE PROCESS OF PERMITTING AND ALL THAT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THE MORE COORDINATION WE HAVE, UM, ON EVERY LEVEL BETWEEN, UH, CITY AND AND PROVIDERS, UM, I THINK IT, IT ALWAYS HELPS WITH THAT.
YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE'LL RUN INTO, UH, EVEN QUESTIONS ON, ON, ON, UM, YOU KNOW, FRANCHISE FEE AND, AND SO FORTH, UH, AND, AND GETTING THAT SET UP.
BUT, UH, I THINK JUST COORDINATION WORKING TOGETHER, UH, TRYING TO, UH, PINPOINT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THOSE, UH, BOTTLENECKS HAPPEN AND WORKING TO CLEAR THAT UP AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND SOMETIMES IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S A QUESTION OF, OF, UH, OF THE PROVIDER, UH, PERHAPS PROVIDING MORE NOTICE ON, ON THEIR PART.
BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, FROM THE PERMITTING AGENCIES, I, I THINK ON THAT IT'S, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S, UH, TRYING TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE PROVIDERS DO HAVE A SCHEDULE TO KEEP AS WELL.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT, UH, UM, UH, DEADLINES TO MEET.
AND SO JUST THAT KEEPING THOSE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN, UH, UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH, BOTH SIDES WANT TO GET THIS DONE AND WANT TO GET IT DONE IN A TIMELY WAY, AND RECOGNIZING THAT WE DO HAVE, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTICULAR, UH, PROCESSES AND, AND REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF RESPECTING THAT, UM, I THINK GOES A LONG WAY TO, UM, MEETING SOME OF THESE DEADLINES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT FULSOME ANSWER.
WELL, UH, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR ATTENDING, GIVING US ALL THE GREAT INFORMATION, ANSWERING SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS.
UM, IF WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL FOLLOW UPS, UH, WOULD WE REACH OUT TO YOU OR IS THERE SOMEONE ELSE ON, ON YOUR TEAM? YOU CAN REACH OUT TO ME.
UH, IT'S EITHER, IT, IT WOULD BE EITHER JULIA ZINSMEISTER, UM, OR, OR ME.
I, I KNOW THAT JULIA, UM, UH, PROBABLY MORE NORMALLY, UH, IS GONNA DEAL WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, I KNOW SHE WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO GIVING THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, BUT, UH, SOMETHING HAD COME UP AND SHE WASN'T ABLE TO DO IT.
UH, BUT JULIA, UH, JULIA IS OUR AUSTIN PERSON.
SO YOU CAN REACH OUT TO JULIA, BUT YOU'RE ALSO MORE THAN WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO ME.
UH, WE WILL BE SURE TO, TO REACH OUT TO YOU AND, UM, HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING.
WELL, THANK, THANKS AGAIN FOR INVITING ME.
[4. Presentation by Dr. Sharon Strover on data insights and findings from their latest report on public surveillance. (Dr. Sharon Strover, Director of the Technology and Information Policy Institute, Moody School of Communications at UT Austin)]
THAT, UH, DO WE HAVE DR.UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, AND THAT IS THE PRESENTATION BY DR.
TROOVER ON, UM, HER LATEST REPORT ON PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE.
TROOVER, WHEN YOU'RE READY, WE WILL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
I'M, UH, CAN, CAN YOU LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR ME? YEAH, WE CAN HEAR YOU AND WE CAN SEE YOUR PRESENTATION IN FULL SCREEN.
BUT THIS INTERFACE IS ONE I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH, SO I'M TRYING TO GET MY CAMERA ON.
UH, BUT YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE TO STAY WITH MY NAME.
AH, CAN YOU SEE ME NOW? WE CANNOT, YOU CANNOT.
BUT, UM, MOST OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, IS THE PRESENTATION ANYWAY, SO FEEL FREE TO YEAH, WE COULD JUST, YEAH, WE CAN JUST GO WITH THAT.
I'M A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, AND I WORK WITH A GROUP CALLED GOOD SYSTEMS ETHICAL AI, AND THE GOOD SYSTEMS GROUP AT UT AUSTIN HAS BEEN WORKING FOR SEVERAL YEARS ON A VARIETY OF ASPECTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
AND ONE AREA THAT I'VE BEEN PAYING A LOT OF ATTENTION TO HAS TO DO WITH CAMERAS.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AS IT TURNS OUT,
[00:35:01]
IS REALLY GREAT AT ANALYZING VISUAL IMAGERY.IT'S, IT'S EXCELLENT FOR ANALYZING ALL SORTS OF DATA, BUT IT, ONCE THE WAYS IN WHICH IT CAN USE AND ANALYZE AND PRODUCE ANALYTICS AROUND VISUAL INFORMATION BECAME BETTER KNOWN.
UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES TO USE CAMERAS COMBINED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAVE REALLY JUST EXPLODED.
I'VE BEEN, SO, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT CAMERAS IN PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTS IN PARTICULAR, AND CITIES HAVE BEEN A RECENT FOCUS FOR ME.
UM, CITIES ARE FULL OF CAMERAS THESE DAYS.
IN FACT, THERE'S A SURPRISINGLY LARGE NUMBER OF CAMERAS, EVEN IN AUSTIN, AS WELL AS A LOT OF OTHER CITIES.
IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, DAN.
THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST A SMALL SAMPLING OF A, OF A FEW DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAMERAS.
WE'VE LOOKED AT CAMERAS IN CITY BUILDINGS, AND WE'VE LOOKED AT CAMERAS IN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. THE, UM, WE WERE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN WHAT'S GOING ON WITH DRONE CAMERAS AND AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS.
AND PROBABLY THE FOLKS ON THIS COMMISSION KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE A LPR TECHNOLOGY IN PARTICULAR SINCE AUSTIN HAD CONTRACT THAT IT CANCELED.
UM, AND THAT, THAT TECHNOLOGY IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN PRETTY CONTROVERSIAL IN MANY, MANY CITIES.
DRONES MAYBE LESS CONTROVERSIAL, AND I THINK PART OF THE CONTROVERSIAL QUALITIES HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH WHAT PEOPLE KNOW AND DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE TECHNOLOGIES.
WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT PEOPLE REALLY DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGIES.
SO WHAT'S, WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR, FOR YOU AND FOR AUSTIN? WELL, IN AS MUCH AS CAMERAS ARE PRODUCING A LOT OF DATA, AND MOST CITIES DON'T ANALYZE THE DATA THEMSELVES, RATHER THEY RELY ON VENDORS OR THIRD PARTIES, THE QUESTION OF WHAT THAT DATA CAN SHOW, WHO CONTROLS IT, WHAT IT'S USED FOR, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE CAMERA IMAGES ARE TRULY APPROPRIATE FOR THE POPULATION ARE AMONG SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN VERY FEW EXAMINATIONS OF HOW PEOPLE, RESIDENTS, SAY, OF AUSTIN OR OTHER CITIES ACTUALLY FEEL ABOUT CITY USE OF CAMERAS IN VARIOUS CITY ENVIRONMENTS, ESPECIALLY PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTS.
SO WHAT OUR GROUP DE DECIDED TO DO WAS INVESTIGATE SOME OF THE PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE SORTS OF CAMERAS THAT ARE BEING USED IN THE CITY ENVIRONMENT.
UH, THIS IS A FOLLOW ON TO THE OTHER CAMERAS.
THIS IS, UM, YOU PROBABLY, THE CAMERAS THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH ARE TRAFFIC CAMERAS.
YOU CAN SEE THEM AT A LOT OF INTERSECTIONS.
THE DATA FROM THE TRAFFIC CAMERAS IN AUSTIN ARE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE ONLINE.
YOU CAN GO FIND A CAMERA AT A CERTAIN INTERSECTION AND SEE WHAT IT'S SEEN.
AND WE'VE VISITED THE, UH, CONTROL CENTRAL IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER.
THERE ARE A LOT OF MAPS OF WHERE CAMERAS ARE AND SO FORTH.
THIS, SO THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF TRANSPARENCY WITH TRAFFIC CAMERAS.
THAT'S PROBABLY NOT THE CASE WITH ANY, OR AS MUCH THE CASE WITH ANY OTHER UNIT.
AND INDEED, WHEN WE BEGAN TO, UH, CONCOCT THIS STUDY, WE PRETTY QUICKLY REALIZED THAT WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH A, A LITTLE TUTORIAL ON WHAT THESE CAMERAS, DRUM CAMERAS AND WHAT APRS ARE, BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST DON'T NOTICE THEM.
WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE NOW.
SO, UM, WHERE I COME AT THIS AS A RESEARCHER IS IN LOOKING AT THE PROLIFERATION OF CAMERAS ALONGSIDE A LOT OF SMART CITY CLAIMS. AND OF COURSE, SMART CITIES ARE COMPOSED NOT JUST OF MONITORING DEVICES OR SURVEILLANCE DEVICES.
THERE'S BOTH HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE, AND THERE'S A CERTAIN ATTITUDE AS WELL FROM A MANAGEMENT, UH, A MANAGEMENT AND A WILLINGNESS TO USE DATA TO IMPROVE CITY OPERATIONS.
AND THE, OUR, OUR CITY, LIKE MANY CITIES,
[00:40:01]
USES CAMERAS IN PARTICULAR AND MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS.EVERYTHING FROM MONITORING SMOKE TO THE TRANSPORTATION CAMERAS I JUST SHOWED YOU.
OF COURSE, THE POLICE USE A LOT OF DIFFERENT CAMERAS, SECURITY INSTALLATIONS FOR THE CITY IN, IN LIBRARIES AND PARKS ARE FULL OF A LOT OF CAMERAS.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER USES, ESPECIALLY OF DRONES.
DRONES HAVE BECOME, UH, ONE OF THE NEWEST INVESTMENTS IN, IN CITY TECHNOLOGY FOR MONITORING ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
THE PROBLEM WITH THESE TECHNOLOGIES IS THAT, AS I SAID BEFORE, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE BEING WATCHED.
ESSENTIALLY A NOTICE LIKE THIS FOR AN AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE CAMERA FOR EXAMPLE, IS EVEN A LITTLE UNUSUAL.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THESE CAMERAS AROUND, YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE NOTICES THAT THEY ARE THERE.
THEY'RE KIND OF UNOBTRUSIVELY DISPLAYED IN FIXED LOCATIONS.
AND OF COURSE, POLICE CARS ALSO HAVE APRS MOUNTED ON THEIR VEHICLES.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE MIGHT EXPECT, BUT WE MAY NOT ACTUALLY NOTICE.
UM, THIS RAISES ISSUES OF PRIVACY, AND IT RAISES ISSUES OF HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY FEEL ABOUT THE CAMERAS THAT ON WHICH THEY ARE APPEARING.
SO, AS I JUST MENTIONED, AUSTIN CANCELED ITS CONTRACT WITH, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS WITH FLOCK FOR APRS A WHILE AGO.
AND WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THESE CAMERAS, HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR PROMISES FOR SECURITY, AND HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR, IN THEIR POSSIBLE, THE POSSIBLE DISCOMFORT THEY PROMPT WITH RESPECT TO PRIVACY.
AND IN PARTICULAR, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON WHAT NORMS ARE ACTUALLY OUT THERE.
ARE THESE TECHNOLOGIES TO NEW FOR NORMS? ARE, ARE THERE ACTUAL EXPECTATIONS ABOUT CAMERAS THAT ARE SHARED ACROSS THE POPULATION? SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE CAME UP WITH THESE RESEARCH QUESTIONS, AS I JUST SAID, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE NORMS? ARE THERE NORMS ASSOCIATED WITH SMART CITY TECHNOLOGIES LIKE THESE TWO? AND HOW DO CERTAIN SPECIFIC CONTEXTS FOR CAMERA PLACEMENT AND FOR WHAT THEY'RE DOING INFLUENCE HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THEM? DOES IT MATTER IF ONE CITY UNIT, LIKE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS USING A CAMERA AS OPPOSED TO A POLICE DEPARTMENT AS OPPO, AS OPPOSED TO THE LIBRARY, FOR EXAMPLE? AND THEN A RELATED QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ABOUT THE DATA PRACTICES? HOW DO PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT DATA RETENTION AND DATA USE? THE RESULT, THE, THAT IS THE DATA THAT'S RESULTING FROM THE CAMERAS.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A REAL HIGH LEVEL, QUICK SNAPSHOT OF OUR FINDINGS.
SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE BACKGROUND HERE, WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THEN ARE CONTEXTS FOR USING THESE CAMERAS.
AND WE'RE USING ONE PARTICULAR FRAMEWORK THAT A RESEARCHER HAS FORMULATED THAT KIND OF BREAKS UP PRIVACY NOTIONS AND HOW WE, HOW WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT PRIVACY INTO THREE ELEMENTS.
AND ONE IS, WHO'S USING THE DATA? IN OUR CASE, THAT MEANS WHAT DOES, WHAT CITY DEPARTMENT IS USING THESE TECHNOLOGIES? AND THEN THE SECOND KEY ELEMENT IS THE ATTRIBUTE OF THE DATA.
WHAT KIND OF DATA IS BEING COLLECTED AND IS, WHAT IS IT RESPONDING TO THAT, SAY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FEELS LIKE IT HAS TO USE A CAMERA.
AND THEN THE THIRD IS SIMPLY, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE REASON HERE? WHAT'S BEHIND USING THE CAMERA? IS IT RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY OR SOMETHING ELSE? SO THIS, SO WE WERE KIND OF BREAKING DOWN THE USE OF CAMERAS INTO WHO'S DOING WHAT WITH THEM AND WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE DATA, WHAT KIND OF DATA ARE BEING COLLECTED, AND WHO'S IT BEING SHARED WITH? SO IN THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH THIS IDEA OF PUBLIC ACCEPTABILITY.
WE ASK PEOPLE BASICALLY, HOW ACCEPTABLE IS IT FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO USE CAMERAS FOR RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY? FOR EXAMPLE, WE USED FIVE DIFFERENT
[00:45:01]
CITY DEPARTMENTS, AND WE CAME UP WITH FIVE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT ACTUALLY ARE PRETTY TYPICAL OF HOW CAMERAS ARE, ARE BEING USED IN VARIOUS CITIES.THE, UH, PURPOSE, THE SCENARIOS INCLUDE THINGS LIKE ROUTINE MONITORING, WHICH IS VERY TYPICAL FOR AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS.
THEY'RE FIXED CAMERAS, THEY'RE JUST THERE AND THEY'RE GONNA STAY THERE.
EMERGENCY USES EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING PURPOSES, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, AND THEN THE FIFTH WAS CROWD CONTROL.
WE KNOW THAT DRONES ARE OFTEN USED FOR, TO MONITOR CROWDS AT EVERYTHING FROM MUSIC FESTIVALS TO PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS.
AND THE CITY DEPARTMENTS WE FOCUSED ON WERE AUSTIN ENERGY POLICE, FIRE, TRANSPORTATION.
AND THIS ISN'T EXACTLY A DEPARTMENT, BUT THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO IN OUR NEXT SLIDE, I THINK WE HAVE, UH, A, A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE DID.
WE HAD AN ONLINE SURVEY, ONLINE SURVEYS HAVE OF JUST AUSTIN ZIP CODES.
UM, WE HAD A SAMPLE OF ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE.
AS I SAID BEFORE, WE REALLY WANTED TO GET THESE ACCEPTABILITY RATINGS FROM OUR SAMPLE.
WE HAD A FIVE POINT SCALE, AND WE WERE LOOKING AT THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT I JUST MENTIONED.
AND THOSE PURPOSES THAT I ALSO JUST MENTIONED, THE LITERATURE SHOWS THAT HOW FAMILIAR PEOPLE ARE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY MATTERS.
SO WE MEASURED FAMILIARITY, AND WE ALSO HAVE INDICATORS OF POLITICAL IDEOLOGY, BECAUSE THERE'S ALSO SOME LITERATURE THAT SAYS MORE CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE ARE STRONGLY WEDDED TO THE IDEA OF CAMERAS PROVIDING SECURITY.
AND WE WERE LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY EVIDENCE OF THAT.
AND THEN WE HAD SOME DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.
UH, WE LOOKED AT DATA HANDLING ACCEPTABILITY, AND WE WERE MAINLY USING A LOT OF STATISTICS, MOSTLY IN THE CATEGORY OF REGRESSION EQUATIONS.
I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO A LOT OF NUMBERS, BUT I HAVE THE NUMBERS IF ANYBODY IS REALLY INTERESTED IN IT.
RATHER, WE HAVE SOME HEAT MAPS THAT CAN GIVE YOU SOME VERY GENERAL SENSES OF HOW THE, HOW OUR SURVEY FARED IN THE NEXT SLIDE.
FIRST WE LOOKED AT PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE, AND UH, WE HAVE ON THE VERTICAL ACCESS THESE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS, TRANSPORTATION, SCHOOL, POLICE, FIRE AND, AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
THAT'S ALONG THE, THE VERTICAL ACCESS.
AND THEN ALONG THE HORIZONTAL ACCESS, YOU HAVE SOME OF THE SCENARIOS, THE PURPOSES FOR WHAT THEY'RE BEING USED, THE DARKER COLOR MEANS THEY'RE MORE ACCEPTABLE.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, NOT EVERYTHING IS EQUIVALENT HERE.
AND IN FACT, EMERGENCIES ARE INCREASE, ARE WAYS TO INCREASE THE ACCEPTABILITY OF USING THESE TECHNOLOGIES NO MATTER WHO IS USING THEM.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S WHERE THE DARKEST SQUARES ARE HERE.
SO THE HIGHEST ACCEPTABLE RATING WAS ACTUALLY RECEIVED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT USING CAMERAS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
WELL, THAT SEEMS REALLY LOGICAL.
WHAT WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE OR WHAT GOT THE REALLY LOWEST RESPONSES WAS USING THE SYSTEMS FOR ROUTINE MONITORING.
THAT IS WHEN THERE'S NO SPECIFIC PURPOSES WHEN THEY FADE INTO THE BACKGROUND.
AND THEY ARE SIMPLY THERE FOR VERY GENERAL UN AND I WOULD SAY UNKNOWABLE PURPOSES THAT MADE PEOPLE FAR MORE, UM, INSECURE OR THAT'S WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS LESS ACCEPTABLE.
SO IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT THE TECHNOLOGY ITSELF IS GOOD OR BAD, RATHER IT'S THE CONTE, THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE TECHNOLOGY IS USED THAT REALLY HAS A LOT TO DO WITH HOW WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT THESE PARTICULAR SYSTEMS. THE SECOND FINDING ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, ILLUSTRATES WHAT WE'RE CALLING KIND OF A HIERARCHY OF ACCEPTANCE.
AND KIND OF IN LINE WITH WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING, URGENT LIFESAVING APPLICATIONS OCCASIONS WERE FAR MORE LEGITIMATE
[00:50:02]
IN THE RESPONSES THAT WE GOT FROM PEOPLE AS OPPOSED TO ROUTINE OR WHAT WE, WHAT WE WERE LABELING HERE PUNITIVE, UH, USES.FOR EXAMPLE, PEOPLE RATED THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT ISSUING TICKETS AS NOT VERY ACCEPTABLE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE.
BUT FOR OUR PURPOSE, WHEN WE CROSSED THESE FIVE BY FIVE MATRICES, THE IDEA THAT CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION WITHOUT A REAL DEFINABLE PURPOSE IS MORE OBJECTIONABLE WAS VERY CLEAR ACROSS ALL THE FINDINGS.
ON THE, THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I THINK THIS IS MY FINAL SLIDE OF FINDINGS.
UM, WE'VE, WE DID FIND KIND OF CONFORMING TO WHAT OTHER RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND THAT FAMILIARITY MAKES DIFFERENCE AND FAMILIARITY HAD A STRONG POSITIVE EFFECT ON ACCEPTANCE.
THAT PEOPLE KNEW MORE ABOUT THESE CAMERAS, PRESUMABLY WHY THEY WERE WHERE THEY WERE.
THEY TENDED TO ACCEPT THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE.
WE ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE RELATIONSHIP WITH POLITICAL IDEOLOGY, BOTH STRONGLY LIBERAL AND STRONGLY CONSERVATIVE FOLKS.
UH, WERE MORE ACCEPTING THAN MODERATES, PERHAPS I CAN, I I CAN OFFER AN EXPLANATION FOR CONSERVATIVES MORE EASILY THAN I CAN OFFER AN EXPLANATION FOR LIBERALS.
I THINK IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH FEELING SECURE AND BELIEVING THAT TECHNOLOGY CAN DELIVER THAT SECURITY.
THAT MAY BE THE CASE FOR LIBERALS TOO.
I'M NOT SURE, BUT THIS IS A LITTLE HARDER FOR ME TO EXPLAIN.
UM, AND THEN ON THE DATA PRACTICES QUESTION, WE FOUND THAT PEOPLE REALLY RATED AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READER DATA AND DRONE CAMERA DATA.
THEY THOUGHT OF IT VERY SIMILARLY WHEN IT COMES TO HANDLING THE DATA.
AND WE ASKED THEM EXPLICITLY, WHO WOULD YOU BE COMFORTABLE SHARING THIS DATA WITH? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THESE DATA ARE SHARED, THEY GET AWAY AND THEY END UP IN THE HANDS OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT PARTIES.
AND WE ASKED THEM SPECIFICALLY HOW COMFORTABLE THEY WERE SHARING DATA WITH GOVERNMENT, WITH NONPROFITS, WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND WITH PRIVATE COMPANIES SHARING DATA WITH THE GOVERNMENT WAS RATED MOST ACCEPTABLE.
SHARING DATA WITH PRIVATE COMPANIES WAS THE LEAST ACCEPTABLE.
SO PEOPLE REALLY THOUGHT THAT WE, WE BELIEVE WE INTERPRET THIS, THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE SOME PUBLIC GOOD IN SHARING DATA UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND COVID AND DATA AROUND COVID, I THINK GAVE US A FAIRLY RECENT ILLUSTRATION OF HOW SHARING DATA CAN LEAD TO A MORE GENERAL GOOD.
THEY WERE VERY INSECURE ABOUT PRIVATE COMPANIES, HOWEVER, HOW PRIVATE COMPANIES WERE HANDLING DATA, WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH IT.
SO I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE IS MY LAST SLIDE.
OH, IT'S NOT, I'M OH, NO ONE, I'M SORRY.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK THERE WE ARE.
SO CONTEXT DID SEEM TO MATTER.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR POLICY THEN? I THINK IT MEANS THAT WHEN IT COMES TO SURVEILLANCE OR MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES THAT REALLY CAREFULLY EVALUATING THE SPECIFIC USE HAS TO BE PART OF THE CALCULUS.
I THINK CONTEXTUAL LEGITIMACY NEEDS TO BE FOREGROUNDED IN THE WAY THAT THE CITY CONTRACTS AND USES DATA.
AND MORE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT DATA HANDLING, ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO THIRD PARTY SHARING, WILL LEAD TO A PUBLIC RESPONSE THAT IS, THAT WILL ACCEPT THEM MORE EASILY.
AND THERE IS PROBABLY A ROLE FOR ENHANCING PUBLIC FAMILIARITY WITH THESE KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY THROUGH EDUCATION AND PERHAPS THROUGH CO-DESIGN.
I SUSPECT THAT SOME MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE ARE AWARE THAT THE CITY IS TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER AN AI FRAMEWORK RIGHT NOW.
EDUCATION IS A BIG PART OF THAT AND TRYING TO ENABLE GREATER COMMUNITY, I'LL USE THE WORD LITERACY ABOUT AI AS PART OF IT.
I THINK THIS IS A CATEGORY OF DATA AND APPLICATIONS THAT MIGHT FIND AN A, A GOOD FOOTING IN THE DISCUSSION ABOUT AI AND AI LITERACY, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DATA.
[00:55:02]
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHARON.UM, APPRECIATE YOU, UH, GIVING US, UH, THE DETAILED DEEP DIVE INTO YOUR RESEARCH.
UM, AS YOU HAVE ON, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AT THIS POINT, I AM, UH, CURIOUS JUST TO GET YOUR, UH, YOUR THOUGHTS ON LIKE THE BROADER, UM, CULTURAL SHIFT.
AND MAYBE THIS TIES BACK TO THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD.
UM, ARE YOU SEEING A SHIFT IN, UM, I GUESS IN THE LITERATURE OR IN YOUR EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT IN THIS FIELD AROUND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE, ESPECIALLY AS THE PUBLIC IS BECOMING MORE AWARE AND EDUCATED ABOUT IT? UM, YES.
I, I WOULD SAY THAT PEOPLE ARE INDEED BECOMING MORE AWARE, AND PARTICULARLY ON THE DATA SIDE OF THINGS.
UM, WE HAD A PANEL DISCUSSION A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE DATA AND PRIVACY ISSUES.
AND ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS MADE A REALLY STRIKING COMMENT WHEN SHE JUST A WOMAN AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR LAW AND PRIVACY.
AND SHE SAID, AT THIS POINT, ALL DATA ARE POLICE DATA.
AND WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT IS ALL DATA SETS ARE BE BECOMING AVAILABLE TO POLICE
AND I THINK AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT MIGHT LEAD TO GREATER CALLS FOR MORE EXPLICIT GUIDELINES ABOUT HOW DATA ARE GATHERED AND HOW THEY'RE SHARED AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY'RE SHARED.
WE'RE IN A VERY FRAUGHT POLITICAL MOMENT RIGHT NOW ON THAT SCORE.
UM, QUESTIONS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER PVI? YEAH, I HAVE A QUESTION.
I'LL DEFINITELY, UM, SHARE THIS PRESENTATION WITH MY COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THERE WAS A LOT OF MENTION OF DRONES SPECIFICALLY, UM, IN THE AUSTIN AREA, AND I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S JUST MORE DETAILS THAT YOU HAVE AROUND THE TYPE OF, OR THE DRONES THAT YOU'RE SEEING AND WHETHER THEY'RE UTILIZING AI AND WHICH ORGANIZATIONS ARE USING THEM.
YOU, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW IF CHARLES PERMA MEETS WITH YOU AT ALL.
HE'S, HE'S BEEN THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE TO GOOD SYSTEMS, AND THERE WAS ACTUALLY SO MUCH INTEREST IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY IN DRONES THAT THEY FORMED A DRONE WORKING GROUP, UH, TWO YEARS AGO SO THAT THEY COULD SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO USE IT.
A LOT OF THE USE OF DRONES IS FAIRLY MUNDANE.
LIKE THEY'RE GREAT FOR INSPECTING POLES.
THEY'RE GREAT TO, YOU KNOW, PUT INTO AREAS OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ARE HARD TO PHYSICALLY GET TO.
BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT DRONES ARE USED IN CROWD SITUATIONS, AND THEY'RE USED FOR THINGS LIKE MONITORING MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE USED TO MONITOR CROWD BEHAVIOR IN CASE A POLICE RESPONSE IS DESIRED IN SOME WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.
THERE WERE, THERE WAS DRONE MONITORING, FOR EXAMPLE, SEVERAL YEARS AGO DURING THE GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS.
AND PART OF THAT, IT WAS ON BEHALF OF FIRE AND POLICE AND FIRE WAS WORRIED THAT PEOPLE WOULD START FIRES BECAUSE THAT IS PART OF WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DO DO IN PUBLIC PROTEST.
UM, POLICE WERE THERE TO KEEP AN EYE ON EVERYTHING.
SO THERE, IT, THERE IS A LOT OF USE OF DRONES.
I THINK THE CITY IS FINDING MORE AND MORE APPLICATIONS FOR THEM.
I KNOW PARKS AND REC WAS VERY INTERESTED IN BOTH STATIONARY CAMERAS AND DRONES JUST FOR SECURITY PURPOSES.
THE, THE, WHAT CONCERNS ME A LOT THESE DAYS IS THE UPTICK IN THE CAPABILITIES OF A LOT OF THESE CAMERAS.
THE MAIN COMPANY THAT SUPPLIES AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS, FOR EXAMPLE, IS INCORPORATING FACIAL RECOGNITION AND PHYSICAL, OTHER PHYSICAL RECOGNITION CAPABILITIES INTO THEIR CAMERAS.
AND THAT'S PART OF THEIR SALES.
UM, NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, OFFERING THAT CAPABILITY, UM, AND THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WILL DOUBTLESS WANT THAT.
UH, IT, IT DOES SEEM TO RAISE ISSUES OF PRIVACY.
[01:00:03]
WELL, ACTUALLY I, I, I DO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.UM, I REALLY LIKED YOUR FOCUS ON NORMS, UM, IN YOUR RESEARCH, AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF THERE WAS ANY PLAN TO KIND OF, TO MAYBE DO SOME COMPARISON OF NORMS IN DIFFERENT AREAS.
UH, I GUESS YOUR FOCUS WAS MAYBE MORE IN LIKE THE, WAS IT IN THE AUSTIN AREA? WAS IT LIKE AMERICA? WAS IT, UM, GEE, OKAY.
I, I DON'T WANNA GET TOO WONKY ON YOU
I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT THE NORMS THAT ONE MIGHT EXPECT IN AUSTIN AROUND A VARIETY OF THINGS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE NORMS ARE IN HOUSTON AND WHAT THE NORMS ARE IN WACO AND WHAT THE NORMS ARE IN CHICAGO.
AND THAT'S WHY I THOUGHT FOR THIS STUDY, I REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS JUST ON AUSTIN.
THERE IS SOME NATIONAL DATA THAT'S EASIER TO, TO GET.
IT WON'T, IT'S NOT EXACTLY LIKE WHAT WE ASKED, BUT YOU CAN GET NATIONAL DATA.
BUT I THINK WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NORMS, YOU'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITIES AND WHAT, HOW COMMUNITIES GRAPPLE WITH PROBLEMS. THAT'S ONE REASON WHY I'M SO INTERESTED IN CITIES, BECAUSE CITIES, AS ALL OF YOU KNOW, CITIES ARE ON THE FRONT LINES OF REPRESENTING PEOPLE AND INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT STATE GOVERNMENT, MUCH LESS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOT.
SO MY REASONING FOR THIS PARTICULAR STUDY WAS I WANTED TO KNOW, I WANTED TO SEE IF THERE WERE NORMS IN AUSTIN.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
TROOVER, ARE YOU SUBMITTING THIS RESEARCH TO A PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL? UH, OR HAVE YOU ALREADY IT'S NOT IN A JOURNAL YET.
IT'S AT A CONFERENCE BEING, UH, BEING READ.
I DO HAVE, I HAVE A PAPER
UM, BUT CERTAIN, WELL, I'LL PUT THE SLIDES ON OUR WEBSITE, CERTAINLY.
WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, FOR THE BRIEFING.
UH, WE'LL CERTAINLY, UH, ENGAGE YOU DIRECTLY IF WE HAVE, UH, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND GET YOUR, UH, INPUT AND GUIDANCE ON ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL.
I'M SO HAPPY TO, TO SHARE THIS WITH PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE REALLY INTERESTED IN IT.
THANKS AGAIN AND HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING.
CHAIRMAN, A KIM, CAN I ASK ONE CLOSING QUESTION? GO AHEAD.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. UM, AT TIMES THE, WE HAVE A WORKING GROUP THAT TOUCHES ON SURVEILLANCE AND AI IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE IF WE CAN LEAN ON YOUR EXPERTISE FROM TIME TO TIME AND POSSIBLY TAP YOUR SHOULDER FOR SOME ADVICE, OR EVEN IF YOUR SCHEDULE ALLOW SOME PARTICIPATION IN OUR DISCUSSIONS AROUND THESE TOPICS AS A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.
A SEGMENT OF US WILL MEET PERIODICALLY TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE ISSUES OF THE CITY, AND WE WELCOME MORE VOICES OF EXPERTISE TO HELP GUIDE OUR IDEAS.
NO, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE WHATEVER I CAN.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESEARCH AND WORK.
[5. Presentation from the Travis County Amateur Radio Emergency Service on local radio management and emergency response (Glenn Meter, Emergency Coordinator, Travis Country Amateur Radio Emergency Services)]
GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD AGAIN IN OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE.AND THAT IS A PRESENTATION FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE ON, UM, EMERGENCY RESPONSE FROM GLENN MEER.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, ATTENDING IN PERSON, GLENN, AND, UH, WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
ALRIGHT, SO, UM, HERE TO TALK ABOUT LOCAL RADIO BASED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH THE AMATEURS OF WHICH I KNOW MOST ABOUT.
UM, AND THAT THE, AT THE END WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES ON THE PROFESSIONALS OR SO, UH, THAT DO THE REGIONAL RADIO SYSTEM FOR THE COUNTY.
UM, THIS IS MAINLY INFORMATIONAL SHARING.
UM, UH, HERE LOCALLY, WE'VE GOT THREE ORGANIZATIONS THAT, THAT DO RADIO COMMUNICATION, UM, FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION.
THERE'S THE AMATEUR RADIO ER, AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE, OR ARIES, UM, THAT MAINLY SERVES NON-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.
THERE, THERE ARE THE RADIO AMATEUR CIVIL EMERGENCY SERVICE OR RACES THAT DEAL WITH GOVERNMENT CONTINUITY.
UM, SO THEY'RE MORE STATE BASED.
UM, THERE'S THE MILITARY AUXILIARY RADIO SYSTEM OR MARS THAT SUPPORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF
[01:05:01]
DEFENSE.UM, WE ARE ALL CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS.
MANY OF US WEAR MULTIPLE HATS.
I'M A MEMBER OF S AND RA'S BOTH.
UM, WE ALL TRAIN ON THE NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM OR ICS, WHICH IS THE WAY SINCE NINE 11, THAT, THAT, UM, EMERGENCY RESPONDERS FROM KIND OF TOP TO BOTTOM OR BOTTOM TO TOP, UM, DEAL WITH THINGS.
UH, BASICALLY RESPONSES ESCALATE AS NEEDED.
UM, AS IF AND WHEN THINGS GET BIGGER, YOU KNOW, IT'LL GO TO THE COUNTY, IT'LL GO TO THE REGION, IT'LL GO TO THE STATE, IT'LL GO TO NATIONAL.
UM, BUT WE ALL FOLLOW KIND OF THE SAME PROCEDURES TO HAVE BETTER INTEROPERABILITY THAN THEY HAD.
I THINK THAT'S WHEN IT GOT STARTED OR AFTER NINE 11 IS WHEN IT GOT STARTED.
UM, WE FALL UNDER THE LOGISTICS SECTION.
OUR JOB IS TO CONTACT PEOPLE IN THE FIELD WITH A COMMAND, UM, COMMAND POST.
WE DON'T SELF DEPLOY, SO, UM, WE ONLY OPERATE, OR WE ONLY SERVE, UM, WHEN CALLED UP.
UM, THE AGENCIES THAT WE SERVE HERE LOCALLY, OBVIOUSLY WE SUPPORT TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, SO WE KIND OF BLEED INTO THE GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, WE SUPPORT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SO THE RADAR CAN TELL WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE SKY.
UM, WE HELP FEEDBACK WHAT HAPPENS ON THE GROUND.
SO, UM, UH, IF HAIL HITS SOMEWHERE, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPTURES THAT INFORMATION, PASSES IT TO, TO PEOPLE LIKE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO BE ABLE TO THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, APPROVE OR DENY CLAIMS BASED ON DID HAIL HIT THE GROUND IN TRAVIS COUNTY ON THAT DATE KIND OF THING, OR WHERE DID IT HIT? UM, WE SUPPORT THE MILITARY.
IF THERE WAS A BAD DAY, WE WOULD PUT EYES ON CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND, UH, WITH MORE, UM, FEED THAT BACK UP TO THE DOD.
UH, WE SUPPORT THE, THE LOCAL HOSPITAL ORGANIZATION FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION.
UM, WE SUPPORT SHELTERING, UH, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE RED CROSS AND A DRN.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO DO THINGS LIKE SUPPORT BIKE RIDES AND RACES TO, UH, BOTH GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS JUST KEEP OUR SKILLS UP.
UM, SO WHY AMATEUR RADIO, RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS? RIGHT? SO, RADIOS WORK WITHOUT INTERNET AND PHONES.
UM, COMMS CAN INCLUDE VOICE COMMUNICATION AS WELL AS DATA COMMUNICATION.
WE'LL GO INTO THE, THE DETAILS ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UH, WE'RE BASICALLY A PARTY LINE, SO MULTIPLE PEOPLE CAN MONITOR THE SAME FREQUENCY, UM, AND THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO SELF-REGULATE THE MESSAGES THAT THEY'RE SENDING, RIGHT? SO, UH, IF THERE'S AN EMERGENCY, SOMEBODY IS HURT, THEY NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION, EVERYONE ELSE IS JUST GONNA KIND OF BACK OFF AND LET THEM TAKE CARE OF THAT EMERGENCY BEFORE WE COME BACK WITH, WITH MORE REGULAR PIECES OF INFORMATION.
UM, WE ARE INTEROPERABLE BY LAW.
WE CANNOT COMMUNICATE ANYTHING THAT IS ENCRYPTED.
UM, SO ANYBODY WITH AN AMATEUR RADIO AND LICENSE, WE GET TO, UM, TAKE TESTS AND GET LICENSED BY THE FCC.
UM, BUT WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, RIGHT? SO IF PEOPLE ARE COMING IN FROM, UM, DIFFERENT AREAS, WE CAN ALL COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, UH, USING THE, THE, UM, GENERAL EQUIPMENT THAT WE ALL HAVE.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A Y AMATEUR RADIO, RIGHT? UM, CELL PHONES, SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET.
KEEP ON IMPROVING, KEEP ON GETTING BETTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, COMMS STAY UP DURING THE BIG EVENTS DURING, SO BY SOUTHWEST F1 AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE HAVEN'T BEEN CALLED IN A LONG TIME.
UM, WE USED TO GET CALLED, UH, WHEN ONION CREEK WOULD FLOOD, YOU KNOW, THE TELEPHONE BUNKERS WOULD FLOOD, YOU KNOW, TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION WOULD GO OUT.
WE'D GET CALLED UP TO HELP OUT WITH A RESPONSE.
YOU KNOW, THEY BOUGHT OFF ALL THE HOUSES.
ONION CREEK DOESN'T FLOOD ANYMORE.
UM, PEOPLE ARE USING CELL PHONES, NOT TELEPHONE BUNKERS.
YOU KNOW, DURING SNOWPOCALYPSE, I LOST POWER FOR A WEEK.
WE STILL HAD CELL PHONE SERVICE TO DOOM SCROLL THAT WEEK.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T HAD COMMUNICATION EMERGENCIES HERE FOR A WHILE.
UM, THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF, WE TAKE COMMUNICATION FOR GRANTED HERE IN CITIES, RIGHT? SO WITHIN THE CITIES, WE'VE GOT RELIABLE COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE URBAN AREAS ALONG MAJOR HIGHWAYS.
YOU GET OUTSIDE OF THE CITY AND TO SURROUNDING COUNTIES, YOU GET OUT TO, YOU KNOW, STATE PARKS LIKE LOS MAPLES, WHERE WE WERE AT.
THERE'S NO CELL PHONE SERVICE, RIGHT? SO, OR IN BETWEEN THINGS CAN GET A LITTLE SPOTTY, RIGHT? SO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR STARLINK, UM, SOME OF THE STUFF THAT I LEARNED RECENTLY, YOU KNOW, EACH SATELLITE ONLY COVERS ABOUT 10 MILE RADIUS, 20 MILE D DIAMETER, UM, FOLKS THAT I KNOW THAT HAVE IT, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE TIMES WHEN, UM, SPECTRUM GOES DOWN, EVERYBODY SWITCHES OVER TO STARLINK TO, YOU KNOW, WATCH THEIR TV SHOWS.
AND BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ON IT, NOBODY'S WATCHING THEIR TV SHOWS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ON STARLINK THAT NIGHT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE IMPROVING.
WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET ALL THE TIME.
UM, ALSO, STARLINK CAN, CAN DEGRADE DURING BAD WEATHER, WHICH IF YOU'VE GOT AN EMERGENCY, NOT SO GOOD.
[01:10:01]
YOU KNOW, THE TAGLINE IS WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, RIGHT? SO THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THING THAT CAN GO WRONG IS PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, EITHER BY ACCIDENT OR MALICIOUSLY.UM, WE WERE ABOUT AN HOUR OR TWO HOURS AWAY FROM ACTIVATING LAST YEAR DURING THE CROWDSTRIKE WHERE THE HOSPITALS DIDN'T HAVE COMMS, AND THEN THEIR, IT GUYS PULLED OFF A MIRACLE AND GOT STUFF UP AND RUNNING THAT IT WAS BASICALLY LIKE THEY WERE A COUPLE HOURS AWAY FROM CALLING US TO SAY HELP
UM, MOTHER NATURE, YOU KNOW, HURRICANE HARVEY, WE WERE APPARENTLY ABOUT A FIBER LINE AWAY FROM LOSING COMMS IN, IN AND OUT OF HOUSTON.
UM, HAWAII WILDFIRE WILDFIRES TOOK OUT THE CELL PHONE TOWERS THERE.
UM, HURRICANE HELENE LAST YEAR, UM, AMATEUR RADIO WAS STILL BEING USED A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE HURRICANE HIT TO COMMUNICATE WITH FOLKS UP ON THE MOUNTAINS.
UM, WE DEPLOYED TO GILLESPIE COUNTY LAST YEAR FOR THE SOLAR ECLIPSE.
THEY WERE WORRIED THAT COMMS WOULD GO DOWN WITH ALL THE PEOPLE.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, CELL PHONES KIND OF WORKED, UM, YOU KNOW, IN AND OUT AROUND, UH, FREDERICKSBURG OR SO, EVEN ON A NORMAL DAY.
SO, UM, WE WERE THERE AS BACKUP.
UM, AND WE HAD DEPLOYED TO KENDALL COUNTY, UM, THIS YEAR, UH, FOR THE JULY 4TH FLOOD RESPONSE OUT THERE.
UM, JUST THERE'S NO CELL PHONE ALONG THE GO, UH, ALONG LARGE PARTS OF THE GUADALUPE RIVER BED ITSELF.
UM, SO HOW DOES IT WORK, RIGHT? SO WE USE VHF AND UHF BANDS.
UM, IT'S POINT TO POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, HILLS CURVE OF THE EARTH GET IN THE WAY FOR LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, UM, SO WE, WE DO USE THINGS CALLED REPEATERS WHERE THE ANTENNAS GET PUT UP ON TALL TOWERS.
UM, THAT'LL GIVE US A TRANSMISSION OF AROUND 30 MILE RADIUS, 60 MILES, UM, SIDE TO SIDE.
UM, WE ALSO USE HF BANDS, RIGHT? SO THEY BOUNCE OFF THE IONOSPHERE DEPENDING ON HOW THE SUN IS, IS BEHAVING.
UM, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UH, GET FARTHER OR NOT AS FAR DEPENDING ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, THE ANTENNA DESIGN, IF YOU BASICALLY POINT THE RADIATION STRAIGHT UP, IT WILL BOUNCE DOWN AROUND TEXAS.
IF YOU POINT IT AT THE HORIZON, YOU CAN GET GLOBAL COMMUNICATION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE FIT IN THE, THE AREA, UM, A LITTLE BIT FARTHER THAN YOUR NORMAL CELL PHONE TOWER.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE GOT, UM, THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT WHEN I FIRST GOT INVOLVED IS WE CAN ALSO SUPPORT THINGS LIKE EMAIL.
SO WE CAN SEND REGULAR EMAIL MESSAGES, WE CAN SEND FORMS, SO HOSPITAL FORMS, STATE OF TEXAS ASSISTANT REQUEST FORMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UH, THROUGH THE RADIO.
UM, IN A SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN BE FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE THAN VOICE.
UH, DATA CAN BE ENCODED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PRIVATE.
IT'S NOT ENCRYPTED, IT'S ENCODED.
UM, KIND OF A FINE LINE THERE.
UM, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS ARE OPTIMIZED MORE FOR WEAK SIGNALS.
SO IF A VOICE CONTACTS CAN'T MAKE IT THROUGH, SOMETIMES THE DATA CONTACTS WILL GO THROUGH.
UM, WHERE ARE WE LOCATED? UM, WE'VE GOT REPEATERS AGAIN, THE, UM, ANTENNAS UP HIGH, UM, UP ON THE TV TOWERS AT MOUNT BUCKMAN, UM, AND UP AT THE JJ PICK RESEARCH CAMPUS IN, IN NORTH AUSTIN.
UM, UH, THERE'S RADIO ROOM THERE AT THE TEXAS STATE OPERATIONS CENTER AT CANA AND LAMAR.
UM, AND, UM, THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW FUNCTIONALITY FOR THAT AT THE NEW STATE OPERATIONS CENTER THAT'S BEING BUILT OUT BY THE AIRPORT.
UM, WE'RE AT THE CTECH ENVIRONMENT, COLLOQUIALLY KNOWN AS, I CALL IT THE NINE ONE ONE CENTER, UM, OUTSIDE OF MUELLER.
UM, AMERICAN RED CROSS BUILDING IS CURRENTLY BEING REBUILT.
UM, WE'LL HAVE A NEW RADIO ROOM THERE.
GREAT THING ABOUT HOSPITALS IS A LOT OF THEM ARE TALL
UM, WE'VE ALSO GOT OUR OWN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION TRAILER THAT HAS AN ONBOARD REPEATER AND DIESEL GENERATOR FOR FIELD USE.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT FOLKS THAT, THAT HAVE RADIOS IN THEIR HOMES, IN THEIR VEHICLES.
UM, SO FROM THE AMATEUR SIDE, THE REQUEST IS BASICALLY JUST KIND OF SPREAD AWARENESS, RIGHT? SO, LIKE ALL OTHER VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS AFTER COVID, WE ARE TRYING TO REBUILD.
UM, WE'VE GOT AFFINITY WITH THE DIY AND MAKERSPACES.
UM, TO BE FRANK, I WOULD PREFER THAT WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE THE COMMISSIONERS HERE, UM, THAN, YOU KNOW, WHITE GUYS WITH BEARDS, OR, SORRY, OLD WHITE GUYS WITH BEARDS.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING A BROADER RANGE AROUND TOWN, WE ARE UNDERREPRESENTED ON IN EAST AUSTIN, AND WE ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO, UM, YOU KNOW, FIX THAT.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT COULD USE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DURING EMERGENCY, UM, PLEASE SEND 'EM OUR WAY.
IT'S BEST TO BUILD UP THE RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE A DISASTER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN A DISASTER HAPPENS, IT'S NOT THE TIME TO
[01:15:01]
BE USING NEW TECHNOLOGY.IT'S HARD TO BUILD, OR IT'S HARD TO GET IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE THAT YOU NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH.
UM, UH, WE DO SUPPORT AMATEUR RADIO IN THE SCHOOLS.
UH, JOE FISHER HERE TO THE, TO THE RIGHT ON THE, THE PICTURE, UM, IS THE MENTOR FOR THE LASA HIGH SCHOOL CLUB.
UM, WE ALSO DO HAVE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS.
SO IF ANYBODY WOULD, YOU KNOW, SENDING A KID OFF TO COLLEGE, UM, WE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT YOU TO BE ACTIVE IN AMATEUR RADIO AND NOT JUST GET YOUR LICENSE.
UM, BUT WE WOULD LOVE TO GIVE KIDS MONEY TO DO GOOD STUFF, RIGHT? UM, GONNA SKIP OVER THE, THE NATIONAL POLITICAL ISSUES.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE, THE BIGGEST ASK IS JUST SUPPORTING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT DEAD YET.
WE'RE NOT
UM, BEFORE WE GO INTO THE GATOR SYSTEM, ANY QUESTIONS AROUND THE AMATEUR RADIO SIDE OF THINGS? OKAY.
UM, AND THEN ON THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE, UM, THERE IS THE GREATER AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY REGIONAL RADIO SYSTEM, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS GATORS.
UM, YOU GUYS MAY KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS STUFF THAN I DO.
UM, IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS NOW.
UM, IT'S STARTED HERE LOCALLY AND NOW SPREADS BETWEEN, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, DOWN INTO TEXARKANA, UH, OR SORRY, UP INTO TEXARKANA, DOWN INTO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
UM, MANAGED BY CITY AND COUNTY COMMUNICATION TEAMS AND, AND, UM, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAMS. IF THERE IS A PUBLIC SAFETY OR PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATION HERE, THEY'RE USING IT TO COMMUNICATE NOW, UM, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT IT WORKS, OR SORRY, IT'S USED FOR OPERATIONS, PUBLIC SAFETY, INCLUDING EMERGENCY RESPONSES AS WELL AS SPECIAL EVENTS.
UM, THEY USE COMMERCIAL P 25 OR PROJECT 25 RADIOS THAT SUPPORT ENCRYPTED AND NON-ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION, RIGHT? SO AS A CITIZEN, SOME COMMUNICATION FOR, FOR POLICE AND FIRE, I DON'T WANNA BE ABLE TO HEAR ON THE, ON, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC FREQUENCIES.
UM, THEY USE, OR THE, THE FREQUENCIES THAT THEY USE ARE V ARE VHF AND UHF, UM, INCLUDING SOME OF THE, THE UF UHF FREQUENCIES ABOVE WHAT AMATEURS USE.
UM, THEY'RE BASED ON TALK GROUPS.
UM, SO YOU CAN HAVE TALK GROUPS PER ORGANIZATION DOWN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, COMBINE ORGANIZATIONS, COUNTY, REGIONAL, NATIONAL, ET CETERA, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
THE ONLY DOWNSIDE IS THAT EACH OF THOSE TALK GROUPS NEED TO BE PROGRAMMED INTO THE RADIOS, RIGHT? SO DURING THE FLOOD RESPONSE, ONE OF THE THINGS WAS THAT WAS HAPPENING WAS ALIGNING UP FOLKS TO, UH, OKAY.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS LINING UP FOLKS TO, UH, REPROGRAM THE RADIO SO THAT THEY COULD ALL COMMUNICATE BACK AND FORTH.
UM, AND THEN THEY'VE GOT LINKED REPEATERS ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT COUNTIES TO HAVE REDUNDANT PATHS FOR COMMUNICATION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, UM, THRILLED THAT THAT'S OUT THERE, UM, AND THRILLED THAT IT'S BEING USED SO WIDELY FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR BOTH DAY TO DAY AS WELL AS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS? I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY
UM, I THINK THE AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY IS VERY COOL.
AND I WAS CURIOUS IF YOU GUYS STILL USE THE QSL CARDS, LIKE THE PHYSICAL QSL CARDS? UM, SOME PEOPLE STILL DO.
UM, MORE AND MORE OF THE STUFF IS NOW ONLINE, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IS, YEAH.
UM, BUT WHEN I GOT MY TICKET 10 YEARS AGO, I GOT A PHYSICAL LETTER IN THE MAIL.
UM, THERE IS A, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A TEAM HERE THAT, THAT, UH, I GUESS HE HAD TO, UM, GET A STAMPS.COM ACCOUNT TO SEND OUT THE EMAILS FOR THE NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN PRACTICING AS MUCH RECENTLY.
UM, BUT JUST KIND OF THE, THE, THE, THE BACKGROUND THERE ARE, THERE ARE CARDS THAT AMATEUR RADIO FOLKS GIVE EACH OTHER THAT ARE OFTEN PERSONALIZED JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE A COMMUNICATION, UM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE DOING IT TO A PLACE THAT'S FAR AWAY, UM, IT, IT'S NICE TO GET A CONFIRMATION THAT YOU MADE CONTACT AND HAVE A PICTURE OF WHAT THAT PERSON IS OR WHAT THEY LIKE.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A NATIONAL TRAFFIC SYSTEM, WHICH IS, YOU CAN SEND MESSAGES NATIONWIDE OR INTERNATIONALLY, AND THEN SOMEBODY LOCAL WILL SEND THAT ON TO THE INDIVIDUAL, UM, WHO HAS REQUESTED THAT MESSAGE.
RIGHT? SO AGAIN, UM, IT'S BASICALLY PRACTICE SO THAT WHEN THINGS LIKE HURRICANES HIT, WE'VE GOT PRACTICE OF CAN WE GET AN ACCURATE, UM, MESSAGE, YOU KNOW, ACROSS TO THE PERSON THAT NEEDS TO GET IT.
SO IT, IT'S JUST TRAINING ON THAT.
I DIDN'T KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION EXISTED.
I WOULD LOVE TO, IF, IF YOU'RE ABLE AND WILLING, I WOULD LOVE LIKE A TOUR OF LIKE THE INFRASTRUCTURE OR SOME OF THE LOCATIONS
[01:20:01]
THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED AROUND THE CITY.I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE.
WE, WE CAN GIVE TOURS, UM, CONTACT US.
UH, CTEC IS WHERE WE'VE GOT A RADIO ROOM.
THEIR ROOF IS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A WORKING STATION THERE RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE GOT OUR COMMUNICATION TRAILER THERE, WHICH IS AWESOME.
UNFORTUNATELY, UH, YOU KNOW, CTEC IS LOCKED DOWN, UM MM-HMM
UH, SO THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GET PRE-APPROVAL FOR FOLKS TO, TO BE ABLE TO GET A TOUR FOR THAT.
UM, THE FOLKS THAT DO THE STATE OPERATION CENTER, UM, UH, WE'VE GOT FOLKS THAT, UH, WE DID, WE DID QUOTE UNQUOTE A WINTER FIELD DAY WHERE WE DID AN EXERCISE THERE MM-HMM
UM, AND FOLKS THERE WERE ABLE TO GIVE TOURS.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A SUMMER EVENT CALLED FIELD DAY, YOU KNOW, THAT WORKS, THAT HAPPENS NATIONWIDE, WHERE WE WILL ROLL OUT OUR TRAILER AND LET PEOPLE COME AND PLAY AND, AND ALL THAT.
SO, UH, WE CAN DEFINITELY SEND INVITATIONS OUT AS EVENTS HAPPEN.
UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, LOVE TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE, UM, AND LOVE TO HAVE MORE PEOPLE FROM, UM, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES GET INVOLVED.
WELL, I KNOW YOU HAVE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER CUBY, SO WE'LL WORK THROUGH HIM TO SEE WHAT'S, WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
AND, UM, YEAH, I WOULD LOVE TO ENGAGE WITH YOU MORE.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS? I'M JUST, THIS WAS AWESOME AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MORE INFORMATION AND YEAH.
THROWING MY NAME ON THE, I USED TO DO DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN A PRIOR LIFE, BUT ON A INFORMATION DISSEMINATION SIDE.
SO NOW BEING ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE SPACE, IT'S FASCINATING.
SO I'M EXCITED TO HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR PRESENTATION.
LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING MORE.
YEAH, FOR ME, ALL THIS RADIO STUFF IS JUST MAGICAL.
SO THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY HERE CAN BE IN A TRAILER THAT'S COMMUNICATING TO, TO SWITZERLAND JUST BLOWS MY MIND.
YEAH, I, I REALLY LOVE THAT THERE IS SOME OUTREACH AND LIKE, DIY COMMUNITIES, IS THERE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES IN AUSTIN OF THAT, UM, WHAT KIND OF OUTREACH THAT IS? THERE HAVE BEEN PRESENTATIONS THAT HAVE HAPPENED FROM SOME FOLKS AT PREVIOUS MAKER FAIRS THAT MAY HAVE KIND OF CRATERED A BIT AFTER COVID MM-HMM
AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE REBUILDING OF LIKE, IF YOU GUYS KNOW OF, YOU KNOW, EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
RIGHT? WE'VE GOT A, A NEW PERSON THAT MOVED HERE FROM CALIFORNIA THAT DOES COMMS FOR BURNING MAN, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WE'VE GOT SOMEBODY IN THE BURNER COMMUNITY
IT'S LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT AGAIN, MORE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT MY AGE, UM, INVOLVED.
SO IF, IF YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, THE COMMUNICATION IS A TWO WAY STREET OF, IF YOU KNOW OF EVENTS WHERE THERE MIGHT BE MORE MAKERS OR DIY FOLKS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THEM SO THAT WE CAN DO MORE OUTREACH.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE INVOLVED IN THE, UM, CITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FAIR EVERY SEPTEMBER.
UM, THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GO AND KIND OF SPREAD KNOWLEDGE, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO, TO SPREAD KNOWLEDGE WIDER.
UM, ONE IDEA JUST OFFHAND, UH, JESSE MAYBE INVITING, UM, UH, INVITING THEM TO THE DECA COMMUNITY, UM, ALL THOSE NONPROFITS, I KNOW NITAS, UM, THEY HAVE, UM, UH, TRAINING SHOWCASES ON THESE TYPES OF, OF TECHNOLOGY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY.
WE WOULD LOVE TO BE INVOLVED IN MORE STUFF LIKE THAT.
SORRY, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, WERE YOU TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING? YES.
YOU FIRST, UH, THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I, I AM AN AV NERD
UM, HOWEVER, UM, MY QUESTION IS AROUND, UH, COMMUNITY RADIO.
SO THIS, UH, UH, IS DIY RADIO, UM, I HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH KZI, WHICH IS NONPROFIT RADIO.
AND THEY'RE KIND OF SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.
UM, BUT AS YOU KNOW, FOLKS AT KAZI ARE VERY CENTERED IN THE COMMUNITY AND VERY CLOSE.
THEY HAVE VOLUNTEERS THAT COME TO THE STATION AND DO DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, I PLAY MUSIC FROM TIME TO TIME.
DJS SOMETIMES THEY HAVE DJS ON.
UM, MY QUESTION IS, WHAT'S THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DI Y RADIO COMMUNITY WITH LIKE THE NON-PROFIT RADIO WHERE IT SEEMS LIKE THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE SYMBIOTIC AND, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO KIND OF CROSS POLL IT? THANKS.
WE'VE HAD FOLKS THAT, FROM THE TECHNOLOGY SIDE, FROM, UM, COMMERCIALS, YOU KNOW, TV STATIONS AND, AND RADIO STATIONS OR SO GET INVOLVED, RIGHT? THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SYNERGY BACK AND FORTH THERE.
UM, PER OUR, PER THE FCC AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE, THE FEW THINGS THAT WE CAN'T DO ARE SELL, SWEAR AND PLAY MUSIC, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A LITTLE GAP BETWEEN, UM, WHAT YOU GUYS CAN DO WITH COMMUNITY RADIO AND WHAT WE CAN DO LEGALLY FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION OR JUST AMATEUR RADIO, YOU KNOW, TALKING ON THE AIR AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
[01:25:01]
THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, RADIO PEOPLE ARE RADIO PEOPLE.SO, UH, UM, I, I CAN REACH OUT TO YOU, UM, OFFLINE OR AFTER THE MEETING, UM, TO SEE IF THERE'S A CHANCE FOR US TO, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE MORE, UH, CONTACT WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY RADIO FOLKS JUST TO SEE IF WE CAN DO SOME MORE CROSSPOLLINATION.
WELL, UH, THANKS AGAIN FOR SPENDING YOUR EVENING WITH US, AND YEAH, APPRECIATE IT AND LOOKING FORWARD TO ENGAGING WITH YOU MORE.
UH, WE'LL TALK TO COMMISSIONER COMBY ABOUT HOW TO DO THAT.
SO, UH, DO WE HAVE CAMIE ON THE LINE? CAMIE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
I KNOW IT'S, UH, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF PRESENTATIONS THIS EVENING.
[6. Presentation from Digital Lift on their digital equity train the trainer program (Kami Griffiths, Executive Director, DigitalLIFT)]
BUT WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE IT TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX AND UH, TURN IT OVER TO KAMI, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL LIFT.WE CAN HEAR AND SEE YOU WELL,
I'M JOINED WITH BY, UH, SKY DOWNING AS WELL, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR.
SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT BUILDING DIGITAL ACCESS THROUGH CAPACITY AND CONNECTION.
OUR NONPROFIT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 17 YEARS, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING MOSTLY, UH, LOCALLY.
BUT I'LL SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR WORK IN SAN FRANCISCO, IN THE CALIFORNIA AREA, WHERE WE GOT STARTED.
SO OUR MISSION IS A WORLD, OR OUR VISION IS A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE ARE EMPOWERED TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO THRIVE IN CONNECTED COMMUNITIES.
AND OUR MISSION IS TO PROVIDE ESSENTIAL TRAINING AND RESOURCES TO COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
SO, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DIGITAL LIFT.
I'M A CO-FOUNDER AND WE WERE ESTABLISHED IN 2008 IN SAN FRANCISCO.
AND THEN I MOVED TO CENTRAL TEXAS IN 2017.
AND OUR WORK IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON DIGITAL INCLUSION.
SO I'M GONNA SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DIG DIGITAL INCLUSION, BUT I IMAGINE THOSE OF YOU LISTENING KNOW THIS AREA PRETTY WELL.
BUT THE ACT OF GETTING FOLKS ONLINE, INTERNET DEVICES AND DIGITAL SKILLS, AND YOU COULD ALSO THROW IN TECH SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING THE RELEVANCY OF THE INTERNET.
BUT THAT IS OUR FOCUS, IS HELPING PEOPLE WHO AREN'T YET FULLY CONNECTED, GET ON THE INTERNET TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES IN SOME WAY THAT WITHOUT ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, PEOPLE ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND.
THEY DON'T ACCESS THE SAME RESOURCES AND SERVICES.
AND WE TAKE THIS THING WE'RE USING RIGHT NOW FOR GRANTED.
I DON'T, I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY DAY, WHENEVER I HAVE A QUESTION AND I CAN GET AN ANSWER WITHIN SECONDS, I THINK HOW GRATEFUL I AM THAT I HAVE THE POWER AND THE ACCESS TO FIND THIS INFORMATION, AND ALSO THE LITERACY TO UNDERSTAND IF THE INFORMATION I'M READING IS ACCURATE OR NOT.
BUT THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER CONVERSATION.
SO THE THINGS WE OFFER ARE BASIC AND INTERMEDIATE DIGITAL LITERACY TRAINING FOR LOW-INCOME ADULTS OF ALL AGES.
SO WE DO DELIVER DIGITAL LITERACY CLASSES TO THE CLIENTS OF OUR PARTNERS.
THAT WOULD BE, OUR PARTNERS WOULD BE SENIOR CENTERS AND LIBRARIES AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES.
SO WE'RE DELIVERING COURSES DIRECTLY TO THOSE CLIENTS, BUT WE ALSO DEVELOP CURRICULUM THAT WE USE FOR THOSE TRAININGS.
AND WE TRAIN TRAINERS AND WE TRAIN MANAGERS, AND WE HELP OTHER AGENCIES DELIVER DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAMMING THEMSELVES.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT WITHIN THE SOCIAL SERVICE SECTOR, THAT THERE IS A GAP IN, UH, THESE AGENCIES ABILITY TO ADDRESS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE BECAUSE THEY'RE ADDRESS ADDRESSING OTHER REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES LIKE FOOD INSECURITY AND HOUSING AND HEALTHCARE.
SO IT'S CHALLENGING TO EXPECT THEM TO JUST INTEGRATE DIGITAL INCLUSION.
'CAUSE IT HAS A LOT OF MOVING PARTS THAT KEEP CHANGING AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES.
SO WE WANT TO SUPPORT THAT NETWORK, AND WE'RE REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A, AN AMAZING GRANT THAT SKY WILL TALK ABOUT IN A FEW MINUTES, THAT THAT'S ALLOWING US TO DO THAT THROUGHOUT CENTRAL AND SOUTH TEXAS.
AND BECAUSE OUR WORK IN THE BAY AREA HAS BEEN PRIMARILY WITH OLDER ADULTS, AND THERE'S A LARGE POPULATION OF NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS, WE HAVE CREATED CURRICULUM AND DELIVER TRAINING IN OVER 10 LANGUAGES.
AND IN SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS, MORE THAN 50% OF OUR LEARNERS DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.
THESE ARE THE POPULATIONS BEING LEFT BEHIND.
[01:30:01]
WE ARE WORKING HARD TO CREATE THE CONTENT AND THE TRAINING MECHANISMS TO GET THESE FOLKS, NOT JUST THE INTERNET, NOT JUST THE DEVICES, BUT THE TRAINING AS WELL, SO THEY CAN BE FULLY CONNECTED AND USING THE INTERNET WHENEVER THEY WANT.IF I LEAVE IT AT HOME, I WILL TURN MY CAR AROUND AND I WILL GO GET IT.
BUT IF I HAD TO USE MY SMARTPHONE FOR WORK, I WOULD CHOOSE TO TAKE THE DAY OFF.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST REALLY CHALLENGING TO DO ON YOUR SMARTPHONE, THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO DO, FILLING OUT APPLICATIONS AND RESPONDING TO COMPLICATED MESSAGES.
SO THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE FOCUS ON.
THIS IS MY AREA OF EXPERTISE, AND I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD THIS NONPROFIT AND KEEP IT ALIVE FOR 17 YEARS AND HAVE SUCH AN AMAZING TEAM OF PEOPLE.
UM, SO YES, AS CAMMI SPOKE OF, UM, WE HAVE 17 PLUS YEARS OF LEADERSHIP AND DIRECT SERVICE PROVISION EXPERIENCE IN, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN DIGITAL INCLUSION.
UH, DIGITAL LIFT HAS DELIVERED HIGH IMPACT TRAINING AND TOOLS NATIONWIDE.
AND IN 2022, WE LAUNCHED OUR FOCUSED CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVES.
AND THIS, THIS INCLUDES, SO FROM 2022 FORWARD, WE HAVE PROVIDED, UH, MORE THAN 14,617 HOURS OF PARTNER TRAINING TO BUILD INTERNAL CAPACITY AND, UH, TRAIN THE TRAINER PROGRAMS. WE HAVE SERVED 200 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ENHANCING THEIR ABILITY TO SUSTAIN DIGITAL SKILLS PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND THROUGH A THREE YEAR PARTNERSHIP THAT WE ARE A LITTLE, LITTLE MORE THAN, UH, MIDWAY THROUGH, UM, ONE MORE YEAR HERE TO GO WITH METHODIST HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES.
UH, WE WILL DEPLOY, UH, 750 NEW DEVICES IN TEXAS.
500 HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO DATE, AND 250 MORE WILL GO OUT IN 2026.
UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE MULTILINGUAL DIGITAL SKILLS CURRICULA, AS YOU HEARD CAMMY MENTION, AND IN-HOUSE, UM, WE OFFER IN-HOUSE SUPPORT IN 10 LANGUAGES CURRENTLY.
UM, THAT'S KIND OF A MOVING TARGET,
LAST, UH, JUST THIS PAST WEEK, WE JUST LEARNED OF A NEW AWARD FROM THE BRUMLEY FOUNDATION, WHICH WILL ALSO ENABLE US TO SUPPORT EXPANDING OUR WORK TO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE, WHERE WE WILL ENROLL 30 MORE TRAINERS, UH, WITH A FOCUS ON THE AREA IN AND AROUND AMARILLO'S SPECIFICALLY.
SO, OUR LIFT PROGRAMS ARE TAILORED TO MEET LOCAL NEEDS AND WORKFORCE DEMANDS ACROSS THE STATE BY TRAINING COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS, CHWS AS HEALTHCARE NAVIGATORS, SUPPORTING TELEHEALTH, ACCESS, PUBLIC BENEFITS, ENROLLMENT AND DIGITAL WELLNESS AND LITERACY.
UH, WE SERVE RURAL, AGING, DISABLED, LOW INCOME VETERAN REINTEGRATING AND MONO OR MULTILINGUAL COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE CAPITAL ALAMO AND MID BORDER REGIONS, AS WELL AS THE UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
AND OF COURSE, UM, AS I JUST ANNOUNCED, UH, THE PANHANDLE IN THE NEXT YEAR, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON PROVIDING A TAILORED SERVICE EXPERIENCE FOR EACH PARTNER MEETING THOSE PARTNERS AND THEIR LEARNERS WHERE THEY ARE, UH, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY.
UH, WE DO SO THROUGH IN-PERSON VIRTUAL AND HYBRID SERVICE DELIVERY.
AND THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MHM ALONE, WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE THAN 60 PLUS PARTNERS WITH TRAINING RESOURCES, MULTILINGUAL CURRICULA DEVICES, AND UP TO EIGHT HOURS OF DIGITAL NAVIGATOR SUPPORT SERVICES PER AGENCY PER MONTH, UH, FOR THREE YEARS.
IT'S ENABLED US TO CONDUCT AND SUPPORT MORE THAN 150 COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS.
UM, IT'S ENABLED US TO ENROLL NEARLY 500 UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS IN TRAINER TRAINING.
UH, WE'VE DISTRIBUTED 250 DATA ENABLED DEVICES THIS YEAR ALONE AND PROVIDED 521 UNIQUE LEARNERS WITH OVER 1300 HOURS OF BASIC SKILLS TRAINING THROUGH THE DIGITAL NAVIGATOR SUPPORT SERVICE DELIVERY ACROSS THE 74 COUNTY REGION.
AND I'LL TURN IT BACK TO KAMI.
SO THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE IMPACT THAT THIS PROGRAM IS HAVING IN TEXAS, THE WIDE REACH OF THE PARTNERS THAT WE ARE PARTNERING WITH AND THE FOLKS THAT THEY'RE WORKING WITH.
[01:35:01]
HERE ARE THE LOGOS OF THOSE PARTNERS, AND WE'RE JUST SO GRATEFUL FOR METHODIST HEALTHCARE MINISTRIES FOR CREATING THIS GRANT PROGRAM AND MAKING BOTH THE FUNDING FOR DIGITAL LIFT AND FUNDING FOR THESE PARTNERS.THAT THE WORK OF HELPING COMMUNITY MEMBERS GET ONLINE REQUIRES THE TRAINERS.
IT REQUIRES THE ADMINISTRATORS TO IDENTIFY THE DEVICES AND GET THOSE DISTRIBUTED.
IT'S AN ALL HANDS ON DECK TO GET FOLKS CONNECTED AND THEN GET THEM THE KIND OF TRAINING THAT THEY NEED TO USE THE INTERNET INDEPENDENTLY AND SAFELY.
AND IDEALLY, ONGOING SUPPORT, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AND THEY GET STUCK, AND THEY NEED SOMEBODY TO ASK WHAT IF THEY ACCIDENTALLY GAVE AWAY THEIR PASSWORD? WHAT DO THEY DO NOW? THEY NEED SOMEBODY THAT THEY CAN TRUST THAT THEY CAN ASK QUESTIONS OF.
SO ALL OF THESE AGENCIES ARE NOW GETTING SUPPORT FROM US THROUGH THIS GRANT.
AND WE HAVE ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF TO CONTINUE THE WORK THROUGHOUT TEXAS.
AND AS I ME MENTIONED NOW IN THE PANHANDLE.
YEAH, SO YOU'VE HEARD US SAY IT BEFORE, AND WE WILL SAY IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
WE TRULY BELIEVE IN MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE AT.
AND THIS INCLUDES OUR PARTNERS.
UM, WE WANT OUR PARTNERS TO TRAIN THE TEAM THAT THEY NEED, NOT THE TEAM THAT WE PRESUME THEY CAN USE.
UM, AND WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO SO WITHOUT STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
UM, SO WHETHER IT'S AN AGENCY THAT'S LAUNCHING A NEW DIGITAL INCLUSION EFFORT OR STRENGTHENING THEIR EXISTING PROGRAMS, UH, DIGITAL LIFT OFFERS TARGETED CAPACITY BUILDING SOLUTIONS THAT HELP THOSE TEAMS GROW WITH CONFIDENCE.
UH, WE BEGIN EVERY PARTNERSHIP WITH A STRUCTURED DIAGNOSTIC NEEDS ASSESSMENT, OUR DNA, UH, WHICH HELPS US IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL AREAS WHICH COULD BENEFIT FROM TRAINING AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, SPECIFICALLY THE TRAINING AND RESOURCES THAT WE OFFER.
SO WE ARE ABLE TO NOT ONLY IDENTIFY THOSE, THOSE, UH, AREAS THAT NEED, YOU KNOW, THOSE ITCHY AREAS THAT REQUIRE US SCRATCH, BUT WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND PROVIDE THEM THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED.
UM, WE THEN TAILOR EACH AGENCY'S TRAINING PACKAGE TO MEET THOSE PARTICULAR NEEDS.
WE OFFER THREE CORE TRAINING PATHWAYS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO MEET DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES, UH, PROVIDING PROGRAM MANAGERS WITH THE TOOLS TO CONFIDENTLY LEAD STRATEGY, EVALUATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES.
WE TRAIN DIGITAL NAVIGATORS TO DELIVER ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT THAT BRIDGES ACCESS AND BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS WHILE BUILDING TRUST INSIDE OF THEIR COMMUNITIES.
UM, MANY OF THEM, MOST OF THEM WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND WE ALSO TRAIN CLASSROOM TRAINERS TO CONFIDENTLY BE ABLE TO FACILITATE WORKSHOPS AND SHORT TERM CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES USING OUR MULTILINGUAL MODULAR CURRICULA OR ANY CURRICULA OF THEIR CHOOSING.
UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE SECTOR SPECIFIC MODULES WHICH ARE TAILORED FOR OUR PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEMS, AGING AND SENIOR SERVICES PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROVIDERS, AND PUBLIC BENEFITS ENROLLMENT SPECIALISTS.
AND IT IS THROUGH DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIP THAT WE EQUIP THESE TEAMS WITH THE TOOLS, THE RESOURCES, THE CURRICULUM, AND THE COACHING THAT THEY NEED TO LEAD IN THEIR FIELD WITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL.
SO, I DON'T WANNA BE TOO REDUNDANT HERE BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE MULTILINGUAL CURRICULUM AND RE AND, AND WORKSHOPS AND RESOURCES, BUT WE DO JUST WANNA, UH, POINT OUT THAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON DELIVERING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING.
AND THIS IS THROUGH THE DELIVERY OF THE MULTILINGUAL CURRICULUM.
UH, THIS CURRICULUM IS CUSTOMIZABLE, THE CONTENT IS CUSTOMIZABLE, AND THERE ARE FLEXIBLE DELIVERY MODELS.
YOU CAN TAKE THIS CURRICULUM AND, AND WE HAVE LAID IT OUT IN THE WAY THAT WE KNOW WORKS THROUGH OUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
BUT IF, IF YOU WANNA TAKE IT AND DO, YOU KNOW,
UM, ALTHOUGH WE DO OFFER WORKSHOPS TOO
UM, WE SUPPORT LEARNERS ACROSS MULTITUDE OF DEVICES IN A MULTITUDE OF LANGUAGES AND IN MANY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, UH, WITH OUR CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS FOCUSED ON THE EVERYDAY DIGITAL CONFIDENCE THAT'S NEEDED TO EXIST IN THIS WORLD TODAY.
UM, WORKFORCE READINESS AND ONLINE SAFETY OR, UH, MORE SPECIFICALLY, UH, GOOD DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP.
AND KAMI, I WANNA PUNT IT BACK
[01:40:01]
TO YOU,SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THESE ONLINE COURSES.
I'M GONNA DIG IN A LITTLE BIT DEEPER AND TALK ABOUT HOW WE'VE BROKEN IT DOWN THAT WE, LIKE I SAID, HAVE BEEN DELIVERING DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAMMING TO OUR LEARNERS FOR 17 YEARS DURING COVI.
AND BEFORE COVID, WE STARTED DEVELOPING CAPACITY BUILDING FOR OUR PARTNERS PER THEIR REQUEST THROUGH COVID.
WE REALIZED BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE ASKING US, HEY, WE NEED CURRICULUM, WE NEED TRAINING FOR TRAINERS.
THEY WERE COMING TO US BECAUSE THEY SAW A NEED THAT THEY DIDN'T REALIZE EXISTED.
SO SINCE 2020, AND REALLY IT STARTED WITH A GRANT FROM ST.
DAVID'S FOUNDATION IN 2022, WE'VE CREATED THESE ONLINE COURSES THAT WE USE WHEN WE TRAIN OUR TRAINERS, AND NOW THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO OUR PARTNERS AND AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FOR ANYBODY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'VE BROKEN IT DOWN INTO TRAIN THE TRAINERS.
SO THESE ARE DIGITAL NAVIGATORS AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTORS.
THEY'RE FOR MANAGERS AS WELL, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A DIGITAL NAVIGATOR THAT YOU'VE NEVER MANAGED BEFORE AND PERHAPS YOU'VE NEVER MANAGED A DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM, THERE'S SOME NUANCES TO UNDERSTAND.
AND ALSO THERE'S, UH, HAVING A RANGE OF TRAINING FOR MANAGERS AND NONPROFIT STAFF WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL INCLUSION, WE THINK IS A REALLY VALUABLE ASSET FOR THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY.
AND THEN WE'VE CREATED SPECIALIZED MODULES THAT GO ALONG WITH THE DIGITAL NAVIGATOR TRAINING, AND THESE TALK ABOUT THE, UH, DIGITAL EQUITY AND AGING LIBRARIES, HEALTHCARE AND ACCESSING PUBLIC BENEFITS.
SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH VERY SPECIFIC POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE, AND WE HAVE DONE THIS WORK OURSELVES.
AND SO BEING ABLE TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED TO HELP OTHERS, LIKE SKYE MENTIONED, NOT HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, WE FIND IS A REALLY REWARDING WAY TO USE OUR EXPERTISE.
AND WE'VE MADE A COUPLE OF COURSES AVAILABLE FOR FREE.
I'VE INCLUDED LINKS HERE, AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THERE ARE OTHER FREE RESOURCES THAT WE'VE MADE AVAILABLE.
SO, UM, WE'VE CREATED AN DIGITAL EQUITY 1 0 1 EBOOK.
THIS IS VERY ROBUST DOCUMENT THAT GOES OVER EVERYTHING YOU COULD THINK OF WHEN IT COMES TO DELIVERING DIGITAL INCLUSION COURSES.
AND THE DIGITAL NAVIGATOR OVERVIEW, WHICH I HAD ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THIS IS ABOUT AN HOUR OF CONTENT, IT'S FREE.
WE ENCOURAGE ANY NONPROFIT OUT THERE WHO'S UTILIZING DIGITAL NAVIGATORS TO HAVE THIS PART OF THEIR ONBOARDING PROCESS.
AND THE TEACHING INTERNET SAFETY AND RESPONSIBILITY IS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT.
I DON'T FEEL RIGHT TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO USE THE INTERNET WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE SAFETY ISSUES AT HAND.
THAT IT GOES FAR BEYOND A SECURE PASSWORD THAT IS IMPORTANT AND DON'T SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE.
AND PEOPLE WOULD JUST FREELY TELL ME THEIR PASSWORDS.
I'M LIKE, DON'T
SO THAT'S JUST ONE THING, BUT UNDERSTANDING TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION AND UNDERSTANDING NOT TO CLICK ON LINKS THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE THEY'RE FROM YOUR BANK.
AND THEN WITH AI AND DEEPFAKES, IT JUST MAKES THE WORLD OF USING THE INTERNET EVEN MORE CHALLENGING.
SO WE REALLY LEAN INTO TEACHING INTERNET SAFETY AND RESPONSIBILITY, BOTH AS A TRAINER, WHICH IS THAT COURSE.
AND THEN THE NEXT BULLET IS OUR CURRICULUM THAT'S AVAILABLE IN FOUR LANGUAGES.
AND THIS IS MATERIAL, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER THAT HAS SCREEN GRABS AND HOW TO GUIDES.
AND IT, IT HAS A LOT OF REALLY GREAT CONTENT THAT PEOPLE CAN REFER BACK TO.
AND THESE ARE ALL FREE TO DOWNLOAD.
WE OFFER WEBINARS ONCE A MONTH.
THE NEXT ONE IS NEXT THURSDAY.
UH, AND OUR TOPICS RANGE FROM INTERNET SAFETY TO ACCESSIBILITY TO, GOSH, SKY.
SHE CAN RATTLE THEM ALL OFF, BUT THERE'S REALLY GREAT CONTENT THAT WE'VE MADE AVAILABLE FOR FREE IN THESE WEBINARS.
AND SO I'VE CREATED A LINKS HERE TO OUR PAST WEBINARS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A VERY INSANE DAY OF EQUITY EVERY YEAR FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK WHERE IT'S BASICALLY SIX WEBINARS BACK TO BACK, WHICH I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW MY TEAM PULLS IT OFF, BUT THEY DO TWO YEAR, THREE YEARS IN A ROW.
WE WANT TO BRING THIS KNOWLEDGE TO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN LEARN AND GET BETTER AT HELPING PEOPLE GET ONLINE.
WE DIDN'T GET THIS ONE TAKEN OUT, BUT, OH, THERE IT IS.
I THOUGHT THERE WAS A BLANK SLIDE THERE.
SO, UH, WE WANNA TALK ABOUT WHY,
[01:45:01]
WHY DOES THE WORK MATTER, UM, AND WHY DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER? AND, AND REALLY THAT IS THE STORIES OF THE IMPACT, RIGHT? SO, UM, WE'VE INCLUDED A COUPLE OF, UH, PARTNER QUOTES FOR YOU TO LOOK OVER.AND, UH, THE FIRST OF WHICH IS A DIGITAL EQUITY PARTNER UNDER OUR MHM GRANT.
AND THIS IS THE INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENTAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATION, OR IDRA.
UM, THEY ARE A, A FAIRLY LARGE ORGANIZATION.
UM, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH IDRA BEGAN WITH A VIRTUAL BILINGUAL TRAINING FOR YOUTH NAVIGATORS SERVING IN FOR COLONIA IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
UM, THIS WAS AN UNANTICIPATED EXPANSION OF OUR, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH MHM, WHICH WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE FLEXIBILITY OF, UH, THE DIGITAL EQUITY PARTNERSHIP MODEL AND THE RESPONSIVENESS OF OUR, OUR MHM GRANTS MANAGEMENT TEAM.
SO, UM, WE HAD NOT PLANNED ON SERVING IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T HAVE STAFF OUT THERE OR THE, THE CAPACITY TO TRAVEL TO THE AREA AND SERVE IN PERSON.
BUT IN THIS CASE, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO DELIVER SIX SEQUENTIAL BILINGUAL TRAINING SESSIONS TO 10, UH, YOUTH LEARNERS HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS, AND WILL CONTINUE PROVIDING SUPPORT THROUGH THE END OF THE GRANT CYCLE.
IDRA STAFF HAVE SHARED THAT DIGITAL LIFT'S HANDS-ON TECHNOLOGY TRAINING, ESPECIALLY AROUND GMAIL AND EMAIL INSTRUCTION, HAS STRENGTHENED THEIR YOUTH'S TECHNICAL SKILLS AND THEIR CONFIDENCE, EMPOWERING THEM TO BETTER SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES AND ADVANCE IRA'S STEM INITIATIVES.
THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES, A SMALL ORGANIZATION IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, PEARL SWIMMERS INTERNATIONAL.
THEY CAME TO US AND JOINED OUR WORK THROUGH THE LIBRARIES FOR HEALTH INITIATIVE, WHICH WAS OVERSEEN BY VIA HOPE AND FUNDED BY ST.
UH, THIS YEAR SO FAR, THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TRAIN FOUR TRAINERS.
AGAIN, THEY ARE A VERY SMALL ORGANIZATION.
THEY'RE PRIMARILY VOLUNTEER RUN, AND ALL OF THEIR STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH MENTAL HEALTH.
UM, SO THEY, THEY HIRE FOR THE LIVED EXPERIENCE AND TEACH THE SKILLS AND BRING MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IN TO DO THE WORK, UM, SERVING AS PEER, UH, SUPPORT SPECIALISTS.
SO THEY'VE ENROLLED IN LIFT WELLNESS TRAINING.
THEY ARE FOCUSED ON DIGITAL EQUITY AND HEALTHCARE AS IT RELATES TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.
THEY RECEIVED 25 HP LAPTOPS WITH SIX MONTH DATA PLANS, ENABLING THEM TO SERVE 55 CLIENTS SO FAR, WITH 15 HOURS OF DIGITAL NAVIGATOR SUPPORT SERVICES PROVIDED BY LYFT NAVIGATORS.
THEIR FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAS SHARED THAT DIGITAL LIFTS TRAINING AND SUPPORT ARE HELPING PARTICIPANTS WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS, UH, GAIN CRITICAL COMPUTER SKILLS, BOOSTING CONFIDENCE, AND ENABLING WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION WHERE IT DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE, AND REMOVING THE BARRIERS THAT PREVIOUSLY HINDERED THEIR RECOVERY AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
SO WE JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO COME HERE TONIGHT AND TALK ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION.
AND HERE ARE OUR EMAIL ADDRESSES.
DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS OR WHAT WE HAVE COOKING FOR NEXT YEAR.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT STUFF THAT WE'RE UP TO.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, WELL, THANKS, UH, KAMI AND, AND SKYE FOR THE GREAT, UH, INFORMATION.
UM, IT'S, IT'S WONDERFUL JUST TO RECONNECT WITH BOTH OF YOU ON AN ONGOING BASIS AND, AND HEAR ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT, UH, YOUR ORGANIZATION IS DOING.
UM, I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION JUST TO SATISFY MY CURIOSITY AS FAR AS LIKE DIGITAL SKILLS GO.
UM, I, I'M, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE DIFFERENT FOCUS AREAS.
WHAT SORT OF, UM, REQUESTS HAVE YOU SEEN, LIKE, EVOLVE, LIKE THE NUMBER OF YEARS YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS? WHAT ARE SOME RECENT TRENDS? UM, YEAH, JUST CURIOUS TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS.
SO EARLY DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO FOCUSED ENTIRELY ON COMPUTER CENTERS.
WE WERE PARTNERED AND STILL ARE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF DISABILITY AND AGING SERVICES.
SO WE WOULD SEND TRAINERS OUT TO THOSE LABS WHERE THEY WOULD HANG OUT, ANSWER QUESTIONS, WE WOULD HAVE SOME KIND OF, UH, SOME CLASSES, BUT THEY WEREN'T WELL ATTENDED.
I THINK THERE WAS THIS STILL THIS FEAR OF USING THE COMPUTER, AND THAT WAS 2000 AND, UH, 10.
SO THEN WE SAW MORE AND MORE PEOPLE USING THE COMPUTERS AND GAINING THEIR CONFIDENCE, GETTING THEIR OWN
[01:50:01]
SMARTPHONES, GETTING THEIR OWN DEVICES AND WANTING MORE.SO YOU GIVE THEM THE BASICS AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, WHAT'S NEXT
SO THEN WE DEVELOPED BEYOND THE BASICS, WHICH DID EXACTLY THAT, AND THAT WAS REWARDING.
AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, WHAT'S NEXT
WE HAVE CREATED SUBSEQUENT WORKSHOPS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT CAN KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE CURRICULUM THAT WE THEN HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT WILL BE OBSOLETE IN A YEAR WHEN THERE'S SO MUCH REALLY WONDERFUL CONTENT AVAILABLE FOR FREE THROUGH TUTORIALS AND WEBINARS AND WEB AND VIDEOS.
SO IT'S REALLY GETTING FOLKS THE CONFIDENCE AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO USE THE DEVICE SO THEY CAN LEARN TO LEARN ONLINE.
SO OUR RECENT WORKSHOPS, WHICH WE CREATED IN SAN FRANCISCO BECAUSE OF THE DEMAND THERE, BUT NOW WE'RE MAKING IT AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR OTHER PARTNERS ARE FOCUSED ON GENERATIVE AI AND ONLINE SHOPPING AND, AND TRAVEL TOOLS.
SO THESE ARE ALL, LIKE, THERE'S DEFINITELY DIGITAL LITERACY IN THERE, BUT IT'S MORE LIKE, WHAT CAN YOU DO? BECAUSE NOW YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THE INTERNET, YOU CAN DO THE ONLINE SHOPPING AND UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO THAT SAFELY.
SO THERE'S DEFINITELY EVOLUTION, THERE'S DEFINITELY A DROP OFF IN PEOPLE COMING TO PUBLIC LABS WHEN THEY HAVE HOME INTERNET FOR GOOD REASON.
BUT IF THEY KNOW THEY CAN COME TO A LAB AND GET THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED, THEY STILL COME IN.
SO THAT'S THE HOOK IS TO, TO KNOW, LIKE, BRING YOUR QUESTIONS EVERY WEEK, CALM DOWN, I'LL BE THERE.
UM, SO, SO SKY, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? UH, NO, I THINK YOU COVERED IT PRETTY, PRETTY WELL.
I GUESS I MIGHT, I MIGHT JUST ADD, UM, TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE SAW IN COVID, YOU KNOW, IN COVID ERA, IT BECAME NECESSARY TO GET EVERYONE ONLINE, WHEREAS BEFORE THERE WERE THE OPTIONS, UM, TO BE IN PERSON, UM, OR NOT.
AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT I PREDICT THAT WERE GOING TO BE SEEING THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR MORE AND MORE AS FAR AS NOT WANTING TO LEAVE THE HOME IF THEY DON'T HAVE TO.
UM, BUT FOR VERY DIFFERENT REASONS, YOU KNOW, NOW, NAMELY BECAUSE OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND THE DANGERS THAT ARE REALLY OUT THERE FOR A LOT OF OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY, PARTICULARLY THE, THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
UM, SO WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN THIS IN TEXAS, UM, PARTICULARLY UP IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME NUMBERS ARE DROPPING OFF WITH PEOPLE WANTING TO DO IN-PERSON AND NEEDING TO KNOW HOW TO ACCESS THOSE, THOSE CLASSROOMS AND, AND, UM, THOSE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ONLINE AND NEEDING TO BE ABLE TO DO SO.
AND UM, YEAH, THANKS FOR THE WORK.
YOU BOTH AND YOUR WHOLE TEAM ARE ARE DOING.
UH, ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS? YES, COMMISSIONER COMBY.
I'M CURIOUS, IN WORKING WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ON TRAINING THEIR LEADERS, HAVE YOU FOUND THAT TEACHING 'EM ABOUT HOW TO TEACH OTHER PEOPLE HAS IN GONE BACK TO LIKE, IMPROVE THEIR OWN DIGITAL SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE? UM, ARE THEY MAKING THINGS EASIER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE? ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT IS THE IDEA.
IT'S THAT OLD, THAT OLD ADAGE OF, YOU KNOW, TEACH A, TEACH A PERSON TO FIT, YOU KNOW, GIVE A MAN A FISH, SHE EATS FOR A DAY, YOU KNOW, TEACH MAN TO FISH.
SHE EATS FOR A LIFETIME, RIGHT? SO BY HELPING TO BUILD THEIR, THEIR CAPACITY BY GIVING THEM THE TOOLS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE MADE ALL THE MISTAKES ALREADY FOR THEM,
IT'S, IT'S MONEY SAVING, IT IS SANITY SAVING, UM, FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO, AND, AND EVERYTHING IS REALLY READY OUT OF THE BOX.
SO, YOU KNOW, OUR TRAIN THE TRAINER CURRICULUM IS, IS HIGHLY ACCESSIBLE, SELF-PACED.
UM, SO PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO LIKE, KEEP UP AND SHOW UP AT A CERTAIN TIME.
THEY JUST, THEY HAVE THREE WEEKS WITH THE CONTENT AND THEN IT ENDS WITH A 90 MINUTE, UH, VIRTUAL, BUT IN PERSON, UM, YOU KNOW, VIRTUAL BUT LIVE
SO DEFINITELY I WOULD SAY UNIVERSALLY ACROSS THE BOARD, WHERE'RE HEARING, UM, JUST REALLY GREAT THINGS AS FAR AS HOW THIS HELPS IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF SERVICES THAT CAN BE DELIVERED, BUT ALSO THEIR ABILITY TO DELIVER THEM EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
YEAH, AND I CAN'T SEE ANYONE GOING BACK TO SENDING MAIL IF THEY CAN EMAIL THEIR CLIENTS, RIGHT? LIKE, WHO WANTS TO DEAL WITH STUFFING ENVELOPES AND PAYING
[01:55:01]
SO MUCH FOR STAMPS? YOU CAN MEET YOUR GOALS AS A NONPROFIT MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY IF YOUR CLIENTS ARE ONLINE AND IF YOUR SOCIAL WORKERS CAN HAVE VIDEO VISITS INSTEAD OF THAT PERSON HAVING TO DRIVE THEIR CAR AND HAVE TO PAY FOR GAS.SO IT'S LIKE THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR THE SOCIAL SERVICE SECTOR.
AND I KNOW THE LEADERS OF THESE AGENCIES KNOW THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT, BUT I KNOW THEY'RE ALSO STRUGGLING WITH OTHER PRESSING MATTERS, DROP IN FUNDING THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE, MAKING LIFE DI DIFFICULT IF NOT DANGEROUS FOR SOME FOLKS, STAFF TURNOVER.
SO I DON'T BLAME THEM FOR NOT HAVING A DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM, BUT IF THEY KNOW THAT THEY COULD WORK WITH US AND WE COULD HELP THEM, I THINK MANY MORE AGENCIES WOULD WANT TO DO THIS.
SO IT'S MY GOAL IN LIFE TO HELP MORE OF THESE NONPROFITS ADOPT A DIGITAL INCLUSION PROGRAM.
SO THREE TO FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, THIS IS JUST HOW THEY DO THEIR WORK.
JUST LIKE WHEN THEY ADDED THAT FOOD PROGRAM OR WHEN THEY ADDED THAT EXERCISE PROGRAM, TECHNOLOGY, DIGITAL INCLUSION, ACCESS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, WILL NOW BE PART OF HOW THEY DELIVER THEIR PROGRAMMING.
THAT AS THEY DO INTAKE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS OR QUESTIONS THAT THEY'LL ASK IN ADDITION TO THEIR, UM, DEMOGRAPHICS AND THEIR, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAKE, THEY'LL ALSO ASK, ARE YOU CONNECTED AT HOME TO BROADBAND? DO YOU HAVE A DEVICE THAT'S BIGGER THAN A SMARTPHONE? ARE YOU ABLE TO USE IT WITHOUT ASKING FOR HELP? SO IF ALL NONPROFITS ASK THAT AS PART OF THEIR INTAKE, THEY COULD HAVE SOLUTIONS BUILT INTO THEIR, UH, HOW THEY ADDRESS THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS QUESTIONS? OKAY.
AND I JUST THINK THAT, I LOVE THE COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER PROGRAM.
I FIND THAT SO FASCINATING AND IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, WHERE WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE ALREADY IN THE HOME DOING SOME LEVEL OF, YOU KNOW, HEALTH NAVIGATION, SEEING SOMEONE ASSESSING FOR NEEDS, YOU'RE LAYERING ON A VERY NATURAL PIECE TO THAT, WHICH IS THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS DO AND, AND THAT CAPACITY BUILDING.
SO I JUST, I THINK THAT'S BRILLIANT TO KIND OF BLEND AND BRAID PURPOSE.
HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING, AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH THE NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE HAD BEFORE YOU
I LEARNED SOME NEW THINGS, SO THANKS FOR HAVING US.
WE'LL SEE YOU AROUND THE COMMUNITY.
[7. Update on commission sunsetting review report from the Audit and Finance Committee (Steven Apodaca, Chair, Technology Commission)]
SO WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.AND THAT'S THE UPDATE OF THE, UM, SINCE ADDING REVIEW REPORT FROM THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, COULD HAVE AV MAKE ME A PANELIST.
I JUST WANNA SHARE THE, THE DOCUMENT.
SO, UH, THIS DOCUMENT IS LOCATED ON THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, MICROSITE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE DOCUMENT HERE.
SO ALL GOOD NEWS, UH, TO COMMISSIONERS.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT.
I KNOW MANY OF YOU REACHED OUT TO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY, UM, BUT I JUST WANTED TO VERY QUICKLY LIKE BRIEF THE COMMISSION ON THE RESULTS OF THAT.
YOU HAD, UH, ALL OF US HAD PREPARED, UM, RESPONSES, UH, TO, UH, UH, QUESTIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED TO US.
AND WE ALSO, UM, HAD TWO, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, FOR BRIEFINGS FROM, UH, OUR PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SO BOTH FORMER COMMISSIONERS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO WE COULD SEE THAT, UH, UH, THIS REPORT OUTLINED, UH, AND SUMMARIZED MUCH OF THAT.
UM, WE HAD PUBLIC HEARINGS ON AUGUST 13TH, SEPTEMBER 10TH.
UM, THE RECOMMEND, THE KEY RECOMMENDATION HERE ON PAGE TWO WAS THAT THE COMMISSION ROUTINELY MEETS, WE MAINTAIN QUORUM, UH, WE MAINTAIN MEMBERSHIP AND THEY RECOMMEND THAT WE CONTINUE AS DIRECTED.
UM, SO I'LL SAY I REVIEWED SOME OF THE OTHER REPORTS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, AND WE'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT WHERE IT WAS RECOMMENDED NO CHANGES.
UM, SO THIS IS A PRETTY LENGTHY DOCUMENT.
I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH IT ALL HERE, UM, BUT JUST, UH, BE AWARE THAT,
[02:00:01]
UM, IT'S A PRETTY DETAILED DOCUMENT OUTLINES THE SURVEY THAT WE COMPLETED, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME DETAILS ON THE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD, UM, PROVIDED TESTIMONY AND THEIR, UM, THEIR ATTACHMENTS IN SOME CASES.SO IF YOU DO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS REPORT, UM, LOOKS LIKE THE REPORTING TEAM WAS FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, JESSICA AND, AND ERICA, UM, WHO WORK, UH, WITH, WITH STEPHANIE.
SO, UM, THAT WAS REALLY ALL I WANTED TO, TO COVER FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM.
UM, BUT JUST WANTED TO SEE IF ANYONE HAD QUESTIONS OR, OR COMMENTS ON THAT.
[8. Planning updates from the Artificial Intelligence & Public Surveillance working group on their discussion with AI stakeholders and resulting actions from the group’s recommendation]
SOUND LIKE IT.I'LL MOVE US TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
UM, DO WE STILL HAVE COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS
HE MAY HAVE JUST LOST THE CONNECTION.
UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, UH, I KNOW YOU AND I HAD, UH, CHATTED BEFORE, SO I WILL, UM, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO COME ON AUDIO OR VIDEO, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON YOUR WORKING GROUP.
HOPEFULLY AUDIO IS COMING THROUGH.
UM, OUR RECEPTION ISN'T THE GREATEST AT THE MOMENT, BUT, UM, THE SALIENT MOST IMPORTANT POINT IS TO, UH, MARK A CALENDAR FOR THE UPCOMING MEETING, WHICH WILL BE THURSDAY, JANUARY 8TH.
UH, IT'LL BE THE WEEK BEFORE THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
UM, IT'LL BE THE FIRST MEETING WHERE WE INCORPORATE, UH, CONCERNS SURROUNDING SURVEILLANCE, AS WELL AS, UM, A COUPLE NEW AI ISSUES ACTUALLY THAT I WOULD LIKE TO RAISE TO THE COMMISSION, OR EXCUSE ME, THE WORKING GROUP, UM, TO SEE IF THERE IS A MATCHING CONCERN.
UM, THIS IS OPEN TO EVERYONE, SO ANYONE HERE WITHIN THE SOUND OF MY VOICE OR THE RECORDING OR WATCH IT AT HOME, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
UM, OUR RESTRICTION IS WE CANNOT HAVE A QUORUM.
UM, THERE ARE NO OTHER RESTRICTIONS ARE THERE? UH, CHAIRMAN, I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
AND WE CAN EVEN HAVE, UH, EXTERNAL PARTNERS ATTEND AS WELL.
UM, I HAVE A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN GETTING INDIVIDUALS OR LEADERSHIP FROM THE AUSTIN AI ALLIANCE INVOLVED.
SO OTHER COMMISSIONERS, IF THERE ARE THOSE WHO, UH, HAVE RELATIONSHIPS THERE AND IF THERE IS INTEREST, OF COURSE, UH, MANY OF THE MEMBERS AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE SOME OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND THEY ARE JUST BRIGHT AND WELL AHEAD, WELL ADVANCED, AND I WOULD JUST LOVE THEIR PARTICIPATION GIVEN THAT THEY ALREADY CARE ABOUT THESE SUBJECTS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, THE UNIVERSITIES AROUND TOWN, OF COURSE, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, A CC, HOUSTON, TILLISON, UH, ST.
EDWARDS AND OTHERS, UH, HAVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EXPERTISE.
AND LASTLY, THERE WAS A QUESTION FROM ONE OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS A WHILE BACK, UH, DISCUSSING LABOR AND THE IMPACT OF AI ON LABOR.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT'S NOT A LARGER CONVERSATION, UH, BUT THERE WERE, UH, CONCERNS THAT WERE RAISED THAT I DON'T THINK WE CONTINUED THE CONVERSATION ON THAT.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION IF THAT INTEREST STILL EXISTS.
UM, SO JANUARY 8TH, THURSDAY IS THE, THE SORT OF MOMENT OF TRUTH, THE MEETING SERGEANT ON THE CALENDAR.
I CAN GET IT DISTRIBUTED TO EVERYONE HERE.
UM, AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
HEY, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, IT'S COMMISSIONER PRETTY BEACH.
UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WHAT TIME IS THAT? JANUARY 8TH MEETING? CURRENTLY SEVEN COURT, 3:00 PM OKAY.
I'M GONNA BE IN THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME ZONE, SO, UH, IF IT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE TO MAYBE MOVE IT TO THE MORNING MEETING, IF YOU HAVEN'T INVITED FOLKS YET, THAT WOULD BE GREAT, BUT, UH, WIDE OPEN TO THAT.
YEAH, IS THERE A, I, I DON'T KNOW THE TIME DIFFERENCE IS THERE.
SO ANY, PRETTY MUCH ANY IN THE MORNING, I'M GONNA TRY AND MAKE WORK.
I HAVE, UH, CONTROL OF MY DAY THAT DAY AND MONDAY EASILY MORE.
AND YOU CAN JUST SEND THAT MEETING INVITE OUT AND THEN I CAN, UM, I'LL JUST WORK WITH YOU AND YEAH, I'LL LET YOU KNOW JUST SO THAT YOU'RE NOT WORKING JUST AROUND ME, YOU KNOW.
UM, CHAIRMAN, IS THAT SOMETHING I CAN DO GENERALLY? CAN I SEND THAT MEETING OPTIONALLY TO THE COMMISSIONERS THAT THEY CAN'T MAKE IT? THEY JUST DON'T, DON'T RP YEAH, BUT YOU CAN ALSO JUST MAKE IT, IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE OPTIONAL.
WE CAN JUST, UM, COUNTER IT OR DE DECLINE IT, SO THAT'S FINE.
UM, YEAH, SO I, I DON'T THINK YOU CAN, I THINK THE RESTRICTIONS ARE, YOU CAN'T SEND IT TO ALL COMMISSIONERS.
UM, SO I RECOMMEND, UH, IF, IF ANY OF THE ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE JUST LET COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS AS WELL AS DAN KNOW.
[02:05:01]
YEAH.BUT, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS, YOU CAN CERTAINLY CONTROL THE, UM, THE INVITE UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS INDEED.
AND, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE THE, UH, THE, UH, EXPERT FROM UT THAT SPOKE EARLIER, UM, JUST TO HOPEFULLY HAVE SOME EXPERTISE AGAIN FROM, UH, EXTERNAL PARTIES.
AND AGAIN, IF ANYONE HERE HAS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE AUSTIN AI ALLIANCE, YEAH, WE CAN, UM, GIVE YOU DR.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN ALL LOOK INTO OUR, OUR NOTEBOOKS TO SEE IF ANYONE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE AI ALLIANCE.
ALRIGHT, ANY, UH, CLOSING QUESTIONS FOR ME? NO, THANKS FOR, UM, COMMITTING TO THAT DATE AND COORDINATING.
I'LL LOOK FOR, UM, THE I CALL TO COME THROUGH.
[9. Update from the town hall listening session working group regarding their planning meeting with the district 2 and 3 offices.]
AND THEN, UM, MOVING RIGHT ALONG TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.SO, UH, QUICK UPDATE ON THE TOWN HALL LISTENING SESSION THAT, UH, WE ARE PLANNING WITH, UH, IN COLLABORATION WITH DISTRICTS TWO AND THREE.
SO ACTUALLY MET EARLIER TODAY WITH THOSE COUNCIL OFFICES.
UH, JESSE WAS IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL.
UM, SO WE ARE STILL TARGETING FEBRUARY 7TH, UH, FROM NINE TO, UH, ROUGHLY AROUND 1231, UM, FOR THAT SESSION.
SO, UH, WE ARE STILL, WE HAVE, UH, A LIST OF OF TOPICS WE'RE GONNA COVER.
SO, UM, JESSE'S AGREED TO DO A PRESENTATION ON THE DIGITAL EQUITY REPORT.
UM, WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR A LEAD FACILITATOR, UH, TO CARRY THE CONVERSATION ON AFFORDABILITY, DIGITAL SKILLS, AND ACCESS AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IF ANYONE IN THE COMMISSION KNOWS OF ANYONE THAT HAS PARTICULARLY HAS EXPERIENCE WITH LEADING THIS CONVERSATION, PARTICULARLY WITH UNDERSERVED, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME DIRECTLY.
UM, OTHERWISE I HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER IDEAS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, THE D TWO OFFICE, AS WELL AS THE CTO OFFICE, WILL PROVIDE GENERAL UPDATES ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE WORK GOING ON WITH, WITH AI, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, AS PRIVACY.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL PLAN TO HAVE, UH, LUNCH AND NETWORKING AND THEN OPEN Q AND A.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PARTNERS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED TO DO TABLING AT THE EVENT AS WELL.
UH, THEY INCLUDE LA AUSTIN FREENET, UM, UNITED WAY, AUTUM HQ, MEASURE, HUMAN IT, EDD DEPARTMENT, A PL DIGITAL LIFT FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES.
UM, SO NOW THAT WE'VE ALIGNED ON, ON THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, THEY'LL BE RECEIVING A, A, UH, A FORMAL INVITE FROM THE D TWO OFFICE.
UM, OUTSIDE OF THAT, UH, THERE'S, WE'RE JUST ALIGNING ON SOME DETAILED LOGISTICS, UH, THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FOOD, UM, HARDWARE THAT'S, THAT'S NEEDED, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UH, BUT IF ANYONE, UM, IS INTERESTED IN HELPING TO SUPPORT, UH, THAT EVENT, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE HAVE, UH, UH, A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONERS ALREADY ENGAGED.
UM, BUT IF ANYONE ELSE IS INTERESTED IN ATTENDING AND, UH, SUPPORTING, WE CAN GET YOU LOOPED IN.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT CHAIR? YES.
UM, I JUST WANT TO ALSO NOTE THAT WE WILL, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE SUPPORT WITH TRANSLATION SERVICES TOO FOR ANY, UM, ANY ATTENDEES THAT NEED THOSE RESOURCES.
UM, I KNOW THAT WAS ON, UH, MO COOPER'S LIST FROM THE D THREE OFFICE.
SO YEAH, COORDINATE WITH, I'M GONNA, I ASK JESSE TO CONNECT WITH OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION MANAGER AND WE WILL REACH OUT TO MO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT THAT.
SO, UM, THAT PLANNING TEAM WILL MEET AGAIN, UH, SHORTLY AFTER WE RETURNED BACK IN 2027, EARLY JANUARY.
UM, SO I CAN PROVIDE ANOTHER UPDATE TO THE COMMISSION AT THAT POINT.
SO IF THERE'S NO QUESTIONS ON THAT, UM,
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
WE'LL MOVE IT ALONG TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY FUTURE ITEMS THEY'D LIKE TO COVER? I ENJOYED HEARING THE DIFFERENT SERVICE PROVIDER PRESENTATIONS AND I WONDER IF IT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE TO GET WHO ARE THE OTHER PROVIDERS IN AUSTIN G.[02:10:02]
IT WOULD BE INTERESTING IF WE COULD GET A COUPLE OF MORE FOLKS PEPPERED IN YEAH.I THINK WE HAVE, UM, SOME RELATIONSHIPS WITH, UM, I'M BLANKING HIS NAME AT THE MOMENT, BUT THE INDIVIDUAL WHO USUALLY REPRESENTS GOOGLE FIBER.
SO, UM, WE CAN GET HIS CONTACT INFORMATION, INVITE HIM.
UM, AND THEN WHAT WAS THE OTHER PROVIDER THAT YOU MENTIONED? ASTOUND? I, I THINK THEY'RE IN AUSTIN.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF THEY'RE SPECTRUM, UH, THEY'RE FORMALLY GRANDE COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, BUT I THINK THEY HAVE SOME FOOTPRINT IN AUSTIN TOO, SO JUST NICE TO GET A, LIKE A, A UMBRELLA OF VIEW OF WHAT EVERYONE'S AFFORDABLE OPTIONS ARE.
DO YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM? I DON'T OKAY WITH THEM, BUT I CAN TRY TO DIG SOME UP.
I, I MIGHT HAVE A RELATIONSHIP.
THERE'S A TEXAS BROADBAND ASSOCIATION I CAN TRY TO REACH OUT TO.
IF NOT, I'LL LEAVE THAT WITH YOU, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE AND IF NOT, UM, COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD MIGHT BE A GOOD PERSON TO COORDINATE WITH.
WELL, UH, WITH THAT I WILL, UH, MARK US AS ADJOURNED AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO CONNECTING AGAIN IN JANUARY.